


Not All Tales Have Happy Endings

by CrypticCase



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, Multi, inspired by The Sisters Grimm, inspired by Wolf Among Us
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-08-23
Updated: 2016-01-11
Packaged: 2018-02-13 02:51:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 34,304
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2134365
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrypticCase/pseuds/CrypticCase
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Geoff Ramsey would never say his life was "normal" when compared to other humans. Sure, he had a house, a loving wife, and one of his closest friends living with them. But, when you're a member of an important historical family, things are never normal. Especially when members of said family are in charge of keeping fairy tale citizens (dubbed "Everafters") under control and in line. Or rather, that's how it's supposed to be.</p>
<p>When Everafters start turning up dead, it's up to Geoff and Gavin to find the killer. But, with the raising tension between the Everafters and Geoff's family, will they be able to? Or will the killer escape during the chaos. Not every story ends in "happily ever after".</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Once Upon A Time...

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone! I am Cryptic Case (C.C for short) and I love writing! This is my first RPF and I was honestly nervous to put it up. So, hopefully everything's good to go and I didn't butcher the portrayals of the Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter guys. This fic will also include multiple OCs for the sake of moving the story along (and because I couldn't fit everyone from RT perfectly in the fic). Hope you guys enjoy!
> 
> Please note that I borrowed the term "Everafters" from the book series The Sisters Grimm by Michael Buckley. It just flowed better when writing as opposed to "fables". I did not come up with it on my own.

Two men walked down the street in a hurry. It would look out of place to those passing by had they not been in a city. In a city, it wasn't unusual to see people rushing to and fro to reach their destination. Even more so when it was night.

What did catch the eye of pedestrians was the bundled up jacket in the arms of one of the men. But, people so rarely want to get involved in dangerous things. Though many wondered, nobody stopped to ask.

The younger of the two looked over his shoulder every so often, as if to make sure they weren't being followed.

“How much farther?” he asked.

“We're almost there, Gav. Just play it cool.” the other man replied, adjusting the jacket in his arms. “This way.”

Gavin followed the other man down an alley silently. He had been trying to 'play it cool' for the last hour. Someone should've been after them by now.

“It was too easy, Geoff.” Gavin argued. “Something's wrong.”

“Just call it good fortune! We don't get easy breaks like this often.” Geoff snapped.

They walked onto another empty street in silence. Gavin tried to ignore the creeping feeling in his stomach. The plan had gone off without a problem. It was rare and extremely lucky.

“I’m telling you something is off!” Gavin hissed. “Breaking into the house, getting out so easily, nobody following us; it should not have been that easy!”

“Lad, shut up, okay?!” Geoff groaned. “Let’s just get to the woman’s house, count our blessings, and go home. We've been up all night, I just wanna go home and-”

Geoff stopped suddenly and put arm out to halt Gavin. Gavin looked up and saw a man step out of the shadows. Geoff tightened his grip on the jacket and backed up.

“You just _had_ to jinx us.” Geoff muttered under his breath.

“I told you it was too easy.” Gavin grumbled.

“Gentlemen,” the man said with a crooked smile. “I do believe there's been a misunderstanding. You seem to have taken something that was given to me.”

"As I understand it, it wasn't yours to have in the first place." Geoff answered calmly.

The man glared at them, his golden eyes showing more annoyance than anger. "You clearly aren't doing your job right if you think I obtained it illegally."

Geoff barked out a laugh. “Yeah, because you’re not known for this kind of thing or anything.”

The man glared and started toward them. “See, that’s the problem with you Grimms. You refuse to let the old tales go. You’re so stuck on who’s a ‘good guy’ and who’s a ‘bad guy’ that you refuse to see the truth when it’s staring you right in the face.”

Geoff kept his hand on Gavin’s chest and backed up more. The jacket in his arms stirred.

“And you,” the man with golden eyes glared at Gavin. “You’re assisting him. I know this is your shtick and all but you’re an Everafter like us. Surely you’re sick of how we’re treated too?”

“Gavin,” Geoff spoke lowly. “Take her and run.”

“What?!” Gavin hissed.

“You heard me. I’m gonna charge him. You take her and get her home.”

“Geoff, are you mad?!” Gavin cried.

“Do it, Gavin! You know how to get there. She’s our priority right now.” Geoff snapped.

Gavin looked from the man to Geoff. A cry came from the bundled up jacket. The man stormed forward.

“Give her to me. Now.” he demanded through clenched teeth.

Gavin looked at the tiny baby bundled in the jacket and sighed. He quickly snatched her out of Geoff’s arms and ran. The man reached out to grab Gavin but was stopped when Geoff slammed into him, knocking him to the ground.

“GO, GAVIN, GO!” Geoff hollered as he held the man down.

Gavin clutched the baby to his chest and darted down multiple streets. His legs ached, still not completely used to walking all the time let alone running. He turned down an alley and skidded to a halt. There was a large fence was looming over him, blocking his path. He had no way of knowing whether or not the man was still after him. If he could get airborne for just a few seconds he could hurdle them both over the fence.

Gavin looked behind him in paranoia as the baby started crying more. He turned back to the baby and rocked her gently.

“Shoosh, love. You’re okay. I’m here.” he whispered.

The baby looked up at him. He wiggled his fingers in front of her as she let out a laugh. Gavin felt a swell of affection rise in his chest for the little girl. He looked at the fence and backed up.

Gavin took a running start at the fence, clutching the baby tightly. He jumped to the side and felt his sneakers make contact with the brick wall. He pushed off and up. He was airborne for a second. Shooting his hand out, he caught the top of the fence and launched himself over it, hissing painfully as the wire of the fence cut into his hand.

He tucked the baby under him as he landed and rolled forward. He got to his feet and jogged to the end of the alley. Gavin looked behind him briefly, listening carefully. There was no sound. Letting out a sigh of relief, he turned and looked at the building down the street from him. Giving the baby a quick look over, he determined she was uninjured and continued down the street.

The building loomed over him, walls cracked and smelling faintly of cigarette smoke. The iron barred door that was supposed to be, what Gavin guessed, for security purposes was bent and swung wide open. He paused and wondered for the first time that night whether or not what he was doing was the right thing.

He briefly looked at the name plaque outside the building.

“Schumacher.” he murmured, adjusting the baby in his arms. “Looks like your mum is in apartment 19-132.”  

Gavin ascended the stairs and tried his best to ignore the constant shouts and clear disarray the apartment building was in. He felt a pang of dread in the pit of his stomach as he approached the door marked _‘19-132’_. He knocked once, twice, and held the baby close to his chest.

The door creaked open. A small gasp came from below him. Gavin’s heart sank when he looked at the wide eyed child staring up at him. The little boy glanced at the baby girl in Gavin’s arms.

“You brought her back?” he whispered in awe. A grin formed on the little boy’s face as he grabbed Gavin’s free hand and dragged him inside. Once he was inside the little boy ran off and called for his mom.

Gavin saw the eyes of about six other children looking at him in shock. He felt his heart begin to hurt when he noticed how dirty the apartment was. He could see the syringes scattered around the apartment. He tightened his grip on the baby and looked down at her. She was sleeping soundly against his chest.

A boy around the age of ten walked over to him, eyeing him warily. Gavin could only guess he was the oldest.

“Did you come for us?” he asked. “Is that why you brought her back? So we could go with you too?”

“No, lad, I’m not…” he trailed off, trying to find the words. “I don’t do that anymore. I thought she’d been-”

“I’M NOT GIVING IT BACK!” a woman yelled. The children flinched.

“But, mom! He brought Becky back!” a little boy said.

“I gave her to him so I could have this money, for fucks sake!” the woman screamed.

Gavin clenched his jaw and quietly handed the baby to the oldest boy. He walked into the living room and saw a skeletal looking woman with matted hair. She looked up at him with dull eyes and let out a short laugh.

“Well look who’s here.” she mocked. “Welcome to my humble abode.” 

“ _'There was an old woman who lived in a shoe’_ ,” Gavin quoted, crossing his arms. “You should’ve tried better to hide. Schumacher may be a common name for the mundies but to an Everafter you make yourself pretty obvious.”

“Well, at least _I've_ found something to do with my life.” she snapped.

“What, selling your children for drugs?!” Gavin snapped. “That’s a low, even by mundie standards.”

“Can you blame me?! You’d need something to take the edge off too if you had to deal with those stupid brats all the time. I've been dealing with them for well over three hundred years.”

“So you just thought you’d _sell_ them?!”

The woman smirked. “Just when I need a fix. They go for a hefty penny. If I need more of my stuff I just pawn them off.”

She turned toward the kids huddled in the hallway. “You hear that?! Three hundred years and I finally found something you little shits are good for. You've finally made your mother happy.”

Gavin looked at the kids and felt his chest constrict as the woman wheezed out a laugh. Clenching his fists, he glared at the woman.

“You’re not their mother anymore. You stopped being their mother the moment you _willingly_ gave them up for drugs.” he said coldly, ignoring the blood that slowly seeped out of the wound on his hand. “I’m going to tell the Brothers and Sisters about this. We’re done here.”

“You think telling them is going to scare me?” the woman asked.

Gavin ignored her and looked down at the kids. “Go get your things. We’re leaving.”

He wrapped his hand in bandanna from his pocket before taking the baby girl, Becky if he remembered correctly, and stood in the doorway. The oldest boy looked at him.

“I thought you said you don’t do that anymore.” the boy said.

“I _don’t_.” Gavin said firmly.

The woman staggered off the couch. She glared at Gavin weakly.

“You have no right!” she snarled. “Those are _my_ kids! You can’t take them!”

“Why? Because you’re not profiting from them anymore?” he asked coldly.

The woman reeled back as if she’d been slapped. Gavin narrowed his eyes and shook his head. He wasn't going to fall for her wounded deer gambit. The children gathered before him with wide eyes.

“Hold hands.” he said, reaching down to take a little girl by the hand. He marched out the door with the children in tow.

“Where are we going?” the little girl asked.

“Somewhere safe.” he said, smiling at her reassuringly.

They walked out of the building and were taken aback by the flashing blue and red lights. Gavin looked around in surprise and saw two uniformed men walk forward. He squinted slightly and sighed heavily when he recognized the men.

“Evening Officer Bear. Officer Woods.”

“You’re in big trouble, kid.” Officer Bear said gruffly. “We’re taking you into custody.”

“You may want to talk to the bird upstairs. I’m pretty sure child neglect is a more serious crime than whatever you’re arresting me for.” Gavin said firmly. “I’m not letting these kids go back to her.”

“They won’t be.” a voice said. The man with golden eyes (one of which was swollen and purple, Gavin noted) stepped forward. “I will be taking them.”

Gavin backed up and moved in front of the kids. The man sighed heavily.

“You've lived with the Grimms for too long, kid. So quick to pass judgement on me.” he walked forward, arms outstretched. “I’ll take Rebecca and the others now, if you don’t mind.”

Gavin stared at the man. He could see now ill will or malice in his eyes. Only affection for the children standing behind him. Reluctantly, he handed Becky over to him.

“Keep them safe.” he said quietly. “Please.”

The man nodded and beckoned the children toward him. Officer Wood grabbed Gavin and slammed him against the cop car.

_~~~“Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.” -John F. Kennedy~~~_

 

Gavin sat quietly next to Geoff in the holding cell. They’d been there for about three hours and hadn’t said a word to each other.

“Hey Gav,” Geoff finally spoke. “Did...did you know Rumpelstiltskin worked as a child protective service agent for Everafter kids?”

“Nope.” Gavin answered.

“Yeah. Neither did I.” Geoff replied. “Do you think the kids are safe with him?”

“Safer than with their mother.”

“Was it that bad?”

“It was terrible, Geoff.” Gavin said tiredly.

“I’m sorry, lad. I should’ve looked into it more.” Geoff sighed.

Gavin shrugged and continued to stare at the wall. “We’ll have to let the Brothers and Sisters know what’s going on.”

He heard Geoff groan behind him. He looked over his shoulder and saw the older man scrub a hand over his face.

“I don’t wanna.” he whined.

“We have to.”

“By _‘we’_ you mean _‘I’_. I’m the one who’s gonna have to explain all this shit.” Geoff said. “Assuming I’m even allowed into the family home anymore.”

“You’re cousin can’t keep you out forever.” Gavin said. “I thought you guys had a code against turning against your family.”

“Yeah, well, we also have a code against marrying Everafters but you know how that’s gone in my side of the family.” Geoff rolled his eyes. “I’m not exactly their _favorite_ relative.”

Before Gavin could reply, he heard the door open. Officer Bear walked in with keys to the cell. They heard yelling from down the hall.

“What’s the news, Papa Bear?” Geoff asked.

Officer Bear rolled his eyes at the old name and opened the cell.

“You two are free to go.” he said. “Rumpel decided not to press charges.”

“Really?” Gavin asked in surprise as he and Geoff exited the cell.

“Yeah. Guy said something about how you were just trying to do the right thing or something. Lucky for Jack considering he just got here to post your bail.”

“You called Jack?” Gavin looked at Geoff. Geoff shrugged.

“I didn't want Griffon freaking out.”

The yelling got louder as Officer Woods stumbled into the room, struggling to heave in a younger male with curly red hair. The man’s glasses were askew and his teeth were bared.

“Let go of me!” he yelled.

“Get in there!” Woods snarled. He shoved the man into the cell and shut it.

“You’re arresting me for no reason, you profiling _fuck_!”

“Be quiet, Michael. I already told you you were being arrested for stalking.”

“ _She_ came to _me_!” Michael spat. “Just because _you_ have a creepy obsession with her doesn't mean you get to project it onto me!”

Woods slammed his hands against the cell and snarled.

“I said be quiet, _wolf_. Or should I muzzle you while you’re here too?”

Michael’s chest heaved with the quick breaths he was taking. Bear grabbed Woods by the shoulder and pulled him away.

“Enough, Hunter. Leave the kid be.”

Gavin stood awkwardly next to Geoff and spared a glance at him. Geoff looked like he was about to say something when Michael caught them staring.

“You wanna take a picture, assholes?!”

Geoff sighed and put his hand on Gavin’s shoulder as Woods immediately started screaming at him. Gavin looked behind him and gave Michael a small wave. Michael glared at him and flipped him off in return.

Once they were given back their personal belongings, Gavin and Geoff descended the steps of the jailhouse. Jack was leaning against the side of his car. He gave them an annoyed look and unlocked the car.

“Mind explaining to me why you guys called me at 5 am on a _Saturday_ to bail you out of jail?”

“To be fair, Geoff was the one who called you.” Gavin said, grunting when Geoff elbowed him in the ribs.

“There was a slight misunderstanding.” Geoff said. “Turns out Rumpelstiltskin is in the business of helping kids, not kidnapping them.”

Jack raised a brow at him. “I could’ve told you that.”

He walked to the driver’s side and climbed in as Geoff and Gavin followed.

“What’re you on about, Jack?” Gavin asked.

“He’s always had the best interest of kids at heart.” Jack explained.

“No, his whole story is about him stealing kids away from their parents.” Geoff argued.

“Stealing them from parents who willingly gave them up for money.” Jack countered as he started to drive. “He takes them away from shitty, greedy people and takes care of them until they’re old enough to be on their own.”

Geoff stayed silent and looked out the window. Jack glanced over at him.

“Just because you learned one version of the story doesn't mean it’s what actually happened. And no offence, Geoff, but your family’s tended  to paint us Everafter’s in a negative light since the original Brothers started discovering us.”

Geoff sighed heavily and pulled out his phone. “Yeah, that’s not surprising.”

Gavin looked down at his hands. He unwrapped the bandanna around his injured hand and winced as it peeled off. To his relief, the wound had already closed up and healed. One less thing to worry Griffon about.

“Hey, I know it’s a lot to ask but can we stop somewhere before you take us home?” Geoff asked.

“Where is it?”

“I need to go talk to my cousin about the whole Schumacher situation. He’d wanna know.”

“Isn’t the family house outside of Austin?” Jack asked tiredly.

“Yep.”

“God damn it, Geoff.” he muttered. “Fine. You’re lucky I didn't have anything to do today.”

“Thanks, Jack. I owe you one.” Geoff murmured pressing his cell phone to his ear. “Hey, Gabriel. It’s Geoff. I need to stop by the house.”

_~~~“Prejudice is a burden that confuses the past, threatens the future and renders the present inaccessible.” -Maya Angelou~~~_

“We’re here.” Jack announced, rousing Geoff and Gavin from their slumber. Geoff ran a hand over his face and sighed.

“Great. Thanks, Jack.” he continued to sit in the car with his eye’s closed. Jack raised a brow.

“Are you gonna go in or-”

“I’m going, I’m going.” Geoff groaned, opening the car door. He shrugged on his jacket and walked up to the giant house. Gavin got out and hopped onto the roof of the car.

“If I didn't know better,” he said. “I’d think this was the mansion in X-Men.”

“The Grimm family’s fairly wealthy. That and they use this place to teach their kids about their history and the history of Everafters.” Jack replied, climbing out. “Get off my car.”

Gavin jumped off and leaned against it. “I don’t understand why we’re not allowed inside.”

“Because a vast majority of the Grimm family think it’s beneath them to socialize with us outside of monitoring us.”

“But, I live with Geoff.” Gavin stated. “And, Griffon’s married to Geoff. Shouldn't she be allowed to come here too since she’s technically a Grimm?”

Jack paused and watched as Geoff was ushered into the house. “Geoff’...Geoff’s kinda a special case. His whole side of the family’s always been treated a little different but Geoff really put the final nail in the coffin by changing his name to his dad’s name instead of ‘Grimm’ like the rest of the family.”

“That’s stupid. It’s just a name.” Gavin said.

“Names can be powerful, man.” Jack shrugged. “How often do you hear a name in a fairy tale without it being important?”

Gavin remained silent. He had never considered that before. He looked over at Jack.

“Is that why a lot of Everafter’s take on names after they come from their own lands?”

“Well, not all of us had ‘our own lands’ to come from, but essentially yes.” Jack looked at Gavin. “I forget your story’s newer than a lot of ours. Names aren't as important to you as they are to us.”

“Why ‘Jack Pattillo’?”

Jack cracked a smile. “It sounded way less intimidating than ‘The Beast’.”

Inside the house, Geoff walked down the halls silently. He poked his head into the den where at least five kids were gathered around the tv watching older Disney movies. He shook his head and continued down the hall. He knew it was the Grimm way of getting the kids adjusted to the world they lived in. He also knew when they were older they’d start learning the ‘actual’ stories behind their favorite fairy tales. Or, at least, the _family’s_ version of the fairy tales. To say Geoff was a little bitter toward his family would be an understatement.

Before he could approach the door leading to what he knew was a large office, he heard footsteps dart down the stairs behind him.

“Uncle Geoff!”

Geoff turned around and smirked. Standing behind him was a grinning young man with bright blue eyes.

“Ian. Good to see you again.”

Ian gave Geoff a quick hug. “Dude, it’s been forever since you've come here! Last time I saw you was my graduation!”

“Yeah, sorry about that, kid. Been busy with stuff.” Geoff glanced at the door behind him. “And God knows your dad doesn't exactly welcome me here.”

“Yeah, it sucks.” Ian admitted, frowning slightly. He perked up. “But, you’re here now so that’s something.”

“Wish it was under better circumstances, buddy. I've got some business to discuss with your dad.”

Ian looked surprised. Geoff turned and walked to the door.

“That can’t be good.” Ian said, following him. “You never come to talk to dad about stuff.”

Geoff winced and lowered his voice. “Yeah, well, I may’ve gotten in a bit of trouble with the law this time around.”

Ian let out a surprised laugh. Geoff knocked on the door to the office.

“Come in.” a voice called.

Geoff took a deep breath and shoved the door open. Sitting behind a desk was a man with fading brown hair. He looked up, giving Geoff a pointed look.

“Would you care to explain why it was I got a call from an Everafter police officer last night saying you and your... _friend_ were arrested for trespassing and attempted kidnapping?”

Geoff sighed and put his hands in his pockets. “Look, there was more to the story than just that, Gabriel.”

“That’s not the point, _Ramsey_ ,” Gabriel sneered. “We are supposed to be keeping those people in line, not causing more conflict than there already is.”

“With all do respect, _Gabe_ , I've been trying to settle some of that conflict. And, I’m doing a hell of a lot more by being out there and talking to the Everafters than you are sitting behind that desk.” Geoff snapped.

“Yes, because rushing in head first into a situation you know nothing about and acting impulsively has worked out so well for you in the past.” Gabriel stated.

Geoff clenched his fists, seething. Ian cleared his throat behind them.

“Should I leave?”

“Stay, Ian. You’re going to be the head of this family someday. You should learn how to deal with certain _situations_ when they arise.” Gabriel waved him in. “And close the door behind you. We don’t want the children to hear us.”

Ian shrugged and closed the door to the office. Gabriel gave Geoff an expectant look, glancing at the seat in front of the desk. Geoff rolled his eyes and sat down.

“Here’s the situation.” Geoff said. “We got a call from whom we believed at the time to be Taylor Schumacher-”

“Who?” Gabriel asked.

“The little old lady who lived in the shoe.”

“We know them by their fairy tales for a reason, Geoffrey. Continue.”  

Geoff bit the inside of his cheek to keep from saying anything else. He took a deep breath and continued.

“We believed that the caller was Taylor Schumacher, but given the time I’ve had to think about it I now believe it might’ve been one of her kids or a neighbor. Anyway, the person on the phone was concerned and distressed, claiming that Rumpelstiltskin had taken one of her kids away. Knowing Rumpel’s story and reputation, Gavin and I thought it’d be best just to take the baby back and bring her home to her mother.”

“Why do you think one of the kids called you?” Ian asked, looking briefly at his dad. Gabriel nodded his approval at Ian’s question before turning back to Geoff.

“That’s where the misunderstanding comes in.” Geoff explained. “Rumpel confronted us and I, thinking it was for the best, gave the baby to Gavin and told him to run and get her home. Rumpel apparently had cops on standby because I was picked up pretty fast. What Gavin told me was-”

“Actual names, Geoff.” Gabriel said with an annoyed tone.

“ _Gavin Free_ told me that the place was a dump.” Geoff continued. “Apparently Schumacher had pawned off one of her kids for drugs to Rumpelstiltskin and was planning on doing it again. Gavin was able to get the kids out of there.”

“Where are the kids now?” Ian asked.

“With Rumpel. He took them all in.” Geoff gave Gabriel a tired look. “I know you don’t normally get involved with ‘Everafter affairs’ but this is serious. There were eight kids living in a less than ideal home environment. Not to mention the mother had drugs in her possession.”

“What do you suggest we do then?” Gabriel asked.

“Our main priority are those kids.” Geoff said. “We need to keep them safe for at least a month in case she tries to take them back. Then we can work on getting Schumacher into rehab or something. If she wants her kids back, we’ll give her the ultimatum to get clean and prove she’ll take care of them.”

Gabriel folded his hands in front of him and paused. Several tense moments passed. Finally, he picked up a pen and began writing something, turning to Ian.

“Can you get my address book? It’s in the filing cabinet by the wardrobe.”

Ian pushed off the wall and walked to the filing cabinet. Gabriel stared at Geoff. Geoff willed himself to remain quiet. Ian returned with a beaten up book and handed it to his father. Gabriel nodded his thanks and opened it. He picked up his phone and looked at Geoff.

“That will be all.”

“Excuse me?”

“You’re dismissed.” Gabriel said. “This matter will be taken care of. You may leave.”

Geoff stood up. As he opened the door, Gabriel spoke up.

“And, Geoff, do refrain from addressing the Everafters by false names. If they didn't have a name in their stories, there’s a reason behind it.”

“So what, we dehumanize them by refusing to call them by the name they choose?” Geoff snapped.

Gabriel looked back at him. “You cannot dehumanize that which isn't human to begin with.”

Geoff seethed in anger. Stepping out of the office, he pulled the door shut with a slam. He stormed down the hall with his fists clenched in his pockets, silently recounting why exactly he chose to leave the family in the first place. He heard footsteps behind him.

“Hey, wait, Uncle Geoff!”

He took a deep breath and looked at Ian. Ian looked slightly embarrassed.

“I’m sorry about my dad.” he said. “I know he can be a jerk at times but-”

“Kid, don’t apologize for your dad. It wasn’t your fault you were born to him.” Geoff interrupted.

“Maybe I can change things when I take over.” Ian muttered, rubbing the back of his neck. “Anyway, it was good to see you again. I missed you, dude.”

Geoff smiled and wrapped an arm around Ian’s shoulder, ruffling his hair. Despite the issues he had with Gabriel and the rest of the family, Geoff had always been fond of Ian. He believed the boy shared more of his views than he let on.

“You should come to Austin some time.” Geoff grinned. “Have some bevs with Gavin, Griffon, and myself. You’re twenty-one now, right?”

Ian laughed. “Yeah, as of last month.”

“Awesome.” Geoff gave his nephew a quick hug. “I’ll see you later, hopefully. Call before you head over.”

Ian waved goodbye as Geoff exited the house. Jack looked up.

“Everything go alright?” he asked.

Geoff sighed. “Yeah. Gabriel’s looking into it. Thank God.”

“That’s generous of him.” Jack stated.

“No shit.”

“Are you alright, Geoff? You look even worse than before you went in.” Gavin chuckled.

“I’m tired as dicks and Gabriel’s still an asshole.” Geoff replied, getting into the car. “Can you take us home, Jack? I’ll give you gas money.”

“Sure, Geoff.” Jack walked around to the drivers side and climbed in.

Gavin sat in the back and buckled his seat-belt. “I remember Gabe being a fairly nice kid. Wonder what happened to him.”

“Being a Grimm is what happened to him.” Geoff said, closing his eyes.

_~~~Blood relatives often have nothing to do with family, and similarly, family is about who you choose to make your life with. -Oliver Hudson~~~_

“Do you guys wanna explain to me why I got a call from the police saying you guys were arrested?!” Griffon questioned as soon as Gavin and Geoff entered the house.

“Why do I feel like I've been asked this question numerous times already?” Geoff muttered.

Griffon stood with her arms crossed. Gavin caved first.

“We stole a baby.”

“You WHAT?!”

“Allegedly,” Geoff said. “We allegedly stole a baby.”

“Pretty sure we just full on took her.” Gavin replied.

Griffon pressed her lips into a thin line, glaring at Gavin. “I thought you said you weren't going to take kids anymore.”

“I _didn't_!” Gavin cried.

“He didn't!” Geoff said, putting his hands up. “There was a misunderstanding. We thought the baby had been kidnapped and were trying to get her back to her mother.”

“Why were you arrested then?!” Griffon cried.

“We took the baby from Rumpelstiltskin and it turns out the baby’s mom was a druggie.” Geoff explained tiredly. “He takes in Everafter kids with shitty home lives.”

“He didn't end up pressing charges.” Gavin said.

“You’re lucky then.” Griffon said. “But, it’s good to hear he’s taking kids in again.”

“Okay, did literally everyone _but_ us know he worked as a CPS agent for Everafters?!” Geoff groaned.

“Well, no, I didn't either. But, it makes sense. He used to do it all the time way back when.” Griffon said. “He offers money or other goods to desperate or awful parents and takes their kids in exchange to give them better lives.”

“But, didn't the mother come back for the baby in the original story because she learned his name?” Gavin asked.

“He also supposedly ripped himself in two depending on who you ask.” Geoff said, flopping face first onto the couch.

“Rumpel’s an imp, you really think he’s stupid enough to say his name out loud like that if it meant the kids were taken?” Griffon answered, sitting on the chair next to the couch. “Plus, he was the one who technically saved the miller’s daughter from death. He saw she wanted her child and allowed her to have a chance to keep it.”

“I feel like an asshole now.” Geoff mumbled into the couch. Griffon smiled softly and ran her fingers through his hair.

“You should. But, hey, at least he didn't press charges.” Geoff lifted his head and kissed Griffon’s hand.

“I’m going to sleep. It’s been a rough morning. We had to stop by Gabriel’s house.”

Gavin backed out of the room quietly. He walked to his shed in the backyard as Geoff told Griffon about what happened with Gabriel. He paused outside the door and proceeded to climb the tree next to it. Taking a few tentative steps, he climbed onto the roof of the shed and sat down. 

The sun was high in the sky, indicating it was much later than Gavin originally thought. He wanted to close his eyes and sleep but couldn’t bring himself to do it. He didn’t want to see the faces of the Schumacher kids. They reminded him too much of kids he’d known. He wondered for the first time in a while if he should go home. Or if he even _could_ go home anymore.

“Hey.” a soft voice said.

Gavin looked up. Griffon stood next to him on the roof, smiling softly.

“How’d you get up here?” Gavin teased.

“Magic.”

She sat down next to him and pulled something out from behind her.

“Brought you something.”

Gavin looked down at Griffon’s hands and smiled slightly. She held out a beautifully crafted pipe flute. Gavin took it and proceeded to play a few notes.

“I know it’s not your original flute but I did my best.”

“It’s wonderful, Griffon. Thank you.” Gavin smiled, giving her a one armed hug. “Did you make this?”

“Yep! One of my newest creations.” Griffon grinned back.

Gavin lifted it to his lips and started playing a melody, drawing the attention of a few birds and squirrels. Griffon studied the young man next to her.

“Geoff told me about how you were shaken up by the kids.”

Gavin stopped playing. He lowered the flute to his lap and looked away. Griffon gave him a look of sympathy.

“They just...they reminded me of the kids I used to take, you know?” Gavin said. “And finding out that Rumpel was essentially doing what I used to do made me feel like a right tosser.”

Griffon nodded and rubbed his back soothingly. “It’s not easy, is it?”

Gavin shook his head. Griffon gently touched his face and turned it toward her.

“Gavin, you did the right thing.” she said. “Those kids are safe now thanks to you and Geoff. You did good.”

Gavin sighed heavily and rested his head on her shoulder. Griffon gave him a tight hug.

“Listen, you go get some sleep. You and Geoff have been awake for probably more than a day at this point. I’ll make food when you guys wake up.”

Gavin pulled away and nodded. He climbed onto the tree and offered her a hand. Once they’d hit the ground, Griffon kissed Gavin’s forehead.

“Sleep well, okay?”

“I will.” Gavin smiled weakly. He entered his room, closing the door behind him. He sat on his couch and shook his head. There was no way he’d be able to sleep for a while.

There must be _something_ he could do for those kids. Something to make their lives better. He felt like he owed them that much. He raised the flute back to his lips and began playing again.

_~~~“Crimes sometimes shock us too much; vices almost always too little.” -Augustus Hare~~~_

The rest of the week was fairly calm compared to the eventful weekend they’d had. There were a few minor calls to the house for petty issues among the community (a small fight breaking out at Joel’s bar was the most eventful thing all week and even that was normal) but that was to be expected. Gavin looked up as Geoff entered the room, phone pressed to his ear.

“So, we’ll probably be over sometime in the next few days to check on them. You know, just to see how they’re adjusting.” Geoff clarified. “Oh, and uh, thanks again for not pressing charges Rumpel. Talk to you later.”

Geoff hung up and sat next to Gavin with a groan. Gavin smirked, handing him an Xbox controller.

“How’re the kids doing?” Gavin asked.

“Pretty good so far. I could hear them arguing in the background when I was on the phone.” Geoff replied, scrolling through the menu.

“Any word from Gabe?”

“None. I can’t tell if he was just _saying_ he’d look into Taylor’s situation to get me out of the house or whether he was actually gonna do something.”

Gavin shrugged. They continued to play until a loud banging came from the front door. Geoff let out a fake sob.

“Why?! I just wanna relax and play video games today!”

The banging continued until Geoff finally stood up.

“I swear to God if it’s Joel freaking the fuck out because he accidentally touched someone again, I’m gonna lose it.” Geoff opened the door and was immediately taken aback. “Jack?!”

He stepped back and let the clearly breathless man in. Jack looked white as a sheet and absolutely panicked.

“Jack, whoa buddy, what’s wrong?” Geoff asked. Gavin stood up and walked over.

“Something happened.” Jack said. “It’s Taylor...she…”

Geoff felt his heart sink. “Oh God. Did she OD?”

“No, she...” Jack looked around frantically. “She’s _dead_.”

Geoff felt like the wind had been knocked out of him. He gave Gavin a disbelieving look.

“That’s bull! She’s an Everafter, she can’t _die_ from an overdose!” Gavin said.

“Gav’s right, she should just be in the hospital. Are you sure she wasn't just unconscious?” Geoff asked.

“You guys don’t understand.” Jack said.

“Well then explain it to us, Jack!” Gavin snapped.

Jack looked at both of them. He ran a hand over his face.

“Guys, she didn't just die. She was _murdered_.”

 


	2. Silver and Gold

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! Thank you so much for all the amazing feedback I've gotten for this story! I'm truly stunned by all the positive reviews and feedback. I actually wasn't sure when I posted this how it was going to be received. So, once again, thank you so much. Updates may be sporadic due to school and (hopefully soon) work but I do intend on finishing this. Anyway, here's chapter 2! Thanks so much for everything!  
> Also, as a side note, I did my best to describe what position Taylor's body was in (and almost hurt myself in the process of doing so because I tried to test it out) but a better description will be in the next chapter.
> 
> ~C.C

“What do you mean she was _murdered_?” Geoff demanded.

“There’s nothing else to say, Geoff. I don’t know the details exactly.” Jack admitted, sitting down.

“So, you came running down here freaking out and didn't bother to get any actual information about it?” Gavin asked, folding his arms across his chest.

“It’s not like I could go look at the crime scene, Gavin! I ran into Bear and Woods when they got the call and they asked me to come get you guys.”

Geoff let out a heavy sigh and tugged at his hair. He stared at the wall in shock, mentally trying to go over who could potentially have it out for Taylor. Nobody came to mind. After all, the only person he could think of who might consider it was Rumpelstiltskin and he-

“Oh my God.” Geoff whispered, drawing Gavin and Jack’s attention. “Her kids. They don’t know their mother’s dead. I just got off the phone with Rumpel telling him we’d be over later this week to check on them.”

The room filled with a heavy silence. Gavin closed his eyes and shook his head. He hadn't considered the fact the kids may be devastated by the news of their mother’s death. Several tense moments passed.

“So,” Geoff finally spoke up, voice not betraying any hint of emotion. “Where’d they find her body?”

“Her apartment. Like I said, I didn't get a whole lot of details.” Jack answered. “Bear and Woods were freaking out when I bumped into them.”

“Yeah, no shit.” Geoff mumbled. “Alright. We’ll go to the apartment and check out the body. I’ll call the Brothers and Sisters later and-”

A loud ringing came from Geoff’s pocket. He pulled out his phone, reading the caller ID with a groan. He pushed the ‘answer’ button.

“Joel, I’m kinda in the middle of something right now. Can this wait?” Geoff paused as the man on the other line spoke frantically. “Joel, I’m sure you didn't do anything...I don’t care if the kid touched you...What?!...Why the fuck did you lock him in the back room?!"

Gavin and Jack exchanged knowing glances. Joel had a tendency to freak out over some of the smallest things that caused him to react to an extreme measure. Geoff pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head.

“Okay, okay! Calm down. I’ll send Gavin over there to check it out. Just sit tight and don’t lock anyone else back there.”

Geoff hung up and let out a loud groan. He looked at Gavin.

“Sorry I volunteered you, lad. But, the Taylor thing is taking top priority and you know how Joel-”

“It’s fine, Geoff. I’ll head over.” Gavin pushed off the wall and walked to the door, grabbing his house keys and a jacket on the way.

“Walk there, Gavin.” Geoff called out as he began to leave. Gavin let out a squawk of protest.

“It’s so far away, Geoffrey!”

“Then take the bus!” Geoff said. “You’re not going to try to use magic to get there in broad daylight. Not without a glamour charm at least. And honestly, Gav, you need to get used to walking more. You can’t rely on your magic to get you everywhere.”

Gavin looked away and held his tongue. He didn't have the heart to admit to Geoff that his magic wasn't as strong as it used to be. That he wasn't even sure if he could use it now even if he wanted to. Instead, he let out an exaggerated sigh and walked out the door.

Jack waited for Gavin to leave before turning to Geoff, brows raised. “Is he okay? He’s been kinda off lately.”

“I think he’s just going through some shit right now. He took what happened to the Schumacher kids pretty hard.” Geoff said. “He’ll be fine.”

Jack was still unsure but decided not to pry. He stood and walked to the door.

“Might as well get this over with.” he said.

Geoff nodded silently and followed him outside. The last death of an Everafter had happened before he was born. And it had been just that, a _death_. Murder was a completely different story. In the back of his mind, Geoff knew something wasn't right. He just couldn't put his finger on what it was yet.

He shook his head and pushed back the thought, climbing into Jack’s car.

_~~~”The dead cannot cry out for justice. It is a duty of the living to do so for them.” - Lois McMaster Bujold~~~_

“Fuck, Gavin wasn't lying when he said this place was a shit hole.” Geoff muttered as he and Jack walked into the building.

Both men avoided eye contact with the few residents they passed as they walked to apartment 19-132. As they approached, nothing appeared out of place. The apartment door was closed and nothing seemed amiss. Geoff took a deep breath and squinted. If he focused hard enough, he could see what looked like heat waves coming from the door. He put his hand on the door and felt a force of resistance. Sighing, he raised his fist and knocked on the wall next to the door.

“Glamoured?” Jack asked.

“Yep.” Geoff said. “Not surprising, don’t want any mundie’s freaking out.”

A few moments passed before Officer Bear appeared seemingly out of nowhere. He nodded and handed Geoff and Jack what looked like wooden necklaces.

“Glad you could make it.” Bear said tiredly. “We’ve been here for a while.”

Geoff nodded and glanced around the hall. He quickly slipped the necklace on, feeling the magic pulsate off it. When he opened his eyes, he could see the apartment door swung wide open. He also saw the slightly humorous sight of a giant bear in a police uniform standing next to him, but had learned long ago not to laugh at the sight of unglamoured Everafters.

Now wearing the glamour charm, Geoff also noticed was the noise of a furious banging down the hall that he hadn't heard before. He looked in annoyance at Woods pounding on a door.

“Open the door, you piece of shit!” Woods barked. “I know you’re in there. I will bust your fucking door down if you don’t open up!”

Jack raised a brow. “What’s his problem?”

Bear sighed heavily and ran a paw over his face. “Michael was let go a few days ago from the station. We didn't have anything to charge him with, seeing that the restraining order Hunter said was put in place on him didn't actually exist. Hunter’s convinced he had something to do with the murder since he lives down the hall.”

“What’s his problem with the kid anyway?” Geoff asked.

“Old rivalries. You know, he’s the Huntsman and Michael’s the ‘big bad wolf’.” Bear rolled his eyes. “It’s just blown up more recently because Hunter spotted Michael talking to Little Red and freaked out on him. Something about ‘how dare he have the nerve to talk to her’ or whatever.”

“Yeah, ‘cause _that’s_ not creepy at all.” Jack snorted.

Geoff balled his fists and walked over to Woods. Grabbing the man by the arm, he snarled.

“Hey! Get your shit together, he’s not home.”

“How the fuck would you know, _Grimm_?” Woods snapped.

“Because he ain't opening the damn door that you've been banging on for God knows how long.” Geoff shot back. “You’re making too much damn noise. Even with the glamour charms at work some mundie could probably hear you! Now lay off and do your damn job!”

Woods glared at furiously, gritting his teeth. He yanked his arm out of Geoff’s grip and shoved past him.

“Fucking prick.” Woods muttered.

Jack narrowed his eyes and stood taller. “You say something?”

Woods turned to say something to Jack but jumped when he saw Jack’s eyes turn green. He quickly ducked his head and walked into the apartment. Geoff patted Jack on the shoulder.

“Appreciate that, Jack.”

“Guy has no qualms about picking fights with small wolves but sees the Beast himself and almost shits himself.” Jack folded his arms. “Makes you wonder how much the story of the valiant and brave Huntsman is true.”

Geoff nodded in agreement. Taking a deep breath, he walked into the apartment. He was appalled by what he saw. Used syringes and blood spotted clothes littered the hallway alone. He saw two bedrooms down the hall, not wanting to even look at them. How eight kids had lived here at one time, Geoff didn't know. He entered the living room.

There, lying on the floor, was Taylor Schumacher. Her dull eyes were blanked and wide with horror. A stab wound was prominent in the center of her chest. Geoff shook his head.

“Jesus Christ.” he whispered.

“The door was unlocked when we got here. No sign of forced entry.” Bear explained.

Geoff shook his head and heard Jack let out a gasp behind him. He squinted at the body in confusion.

“Why is she...contorted?” he asked. Taylor’s legs were bent at the knee and pressed together on the ground, off slightly to the side. He also noticed her arms seemed to be pinned under and behind her body.

“No idea.” Bear admitted. “This is how we found her. We haven’t touched her.”

“You guys didn't examine the body?” Jack asked.

“We don’t have the resources.” Woods said. “No Everafter doctor at the moment to check her out. All we could do was take pictures to document it."

“Well, maybe if you hadn't wasted time trying to break down Michael’s door you could’ve checked.” Geoff grumbled.

“The wolf could be the killer for all we know!” Woods protested, much to the embarrassment of Bear.

“Wolves usually rip the throats out of their prey,” Jack interjected, glaring at Woods. “they wouldn't need to stab them first.”

“It’s not my job to keep tabs on Michael 24/7 just because you have a problem with him, either.” Geoff added. “If you’re having such a big problem with him, call the Brothers and Sisters about it.”

“Oh trust me, I have! Called them a few days ago to see if they could actually deal with the _cur_!”

“ENOUGH!” Bear roared, silencing everyone. “We are here on investigation! One of our own is dead and as far as we know the killer could be one of us too. Spreading false judgement and bickering isn't going to help _anything_.”

The four men stared quietly at the body of the fallen Everafter.

"The question is, where do we go from here?" Jack asked.

"We need to find a doctor to examine her body." Geoff said. "That's step one. Someone who can provide insight into what happened."

"Who put you in charge?" Woods muttered, receiving an elbow to the ribs from Bear.

"Nobody did, but if anyone can help us it's Geoff." Bear snapped.

"Flattery is awesome and all but we still need a doctor." Geoff said.

Jack looked thoughtful. "You know, I think I know someone. I just don't know where to find him."

"Really? Who?" Geoff asked in surprised.

"Well, he's not exactly a medical doctor but he's worked with dead bodies before."

Woods gave Jack a look of disgust. "Ugh, God, you don't mean-"

"Dr. Frankenstein." Jack confirmed, earning weird looks from the other men. "What? He's our best bet at this point.”

“Does he even live in Austin?” Geoff asked.

“Our records show that he does, but I believe he changed his name again a number of years ago.” Bear answered. “We don’t have a fixed residence for him, though.”

“Is there any way we can find him?” Geoff sighed.

“You could try asking around, but I honestly don’t know if anyone knows.” Bear replied.

Geoff stared down at Taylor’s body. He shook his head and stood.

“Well, it sounds like we don’t have much of a choice.” he said. “Jack and I will go looking for the guy. Will you guys be okay to watch the body?”

“Yeah. We’re not fully done searching the place anyway.” Bear said. He paused and looked at the body again. “We’ve been here for years. I mean, there’s been a few minor incidents and all. But, _murder_? I don’t know, Geoff.”

Geoff patted him on the shoulder. “We’ll figure it out. After we find Dr. Frank we’ll do a briefing and decide where to go from there.”

Bear nodded. Geoff moved toward the door with Jack.

“Be care, boys.” Bear called. “If this isn't a random event, you need to be alert.”

“Will do, Abe.” Geoff assured. He nodded to Jack and exited the building.

As soon as they got into Jack’s car, Geoff covered his face.

“Holy shit. This is bad.” he said.

Jack was silent for a moment. “What now?”

“We gotta fucking ask around, I guess.” Geoff groaned. “I can call the main house and see if Gabriel might know where to find Dr. Franker but I doubt he knows.”

Jack started the engine. “No use sitting here then. The sooner we can find him the better.”

Geoff pulled out his cell phone. After a few moments, he dialed a number and waited. He heard the other line pick up.

“Gabriel. It’s Geoff.” he paused. “Listen, something’s happened. Something really bad.”

_~~~“Truth, like gold, is to be obtained not by its growth, but by washing away from it all that is not gold.” -Leo Tolstoy~~~_

**Gavin- "How goes the search?"**

**Geoff- "Fuckin terrible. Found body. No doc. Jack suggested Frankenstein."**

**Gavin- "Creepy guy. How bad was body?"**

**Geoff- "Bad. Do u know where 2 find F.Stein?"**

**Gavin- "Not off hand, soz. Why are you texting weird?"**

**Geoff- "On phone w/ Gabe. Will text later."**

Gavin typed a quick reply as he got off the bus. Pocketing his phone, he made his way to the unnamed bar down the street. He winced slightly when he lost his footing and stumbled, still not used to walking everywhere.

Pulling the door open, Gavin entered the nearly empty bar. He smiled slightly when he saw the bar's nervous owner behind the counter rubbing his gloved hands together.

"Still haven't put a name up on the old place, Joel?"

Joel looked up and laughed slightly. "I almost put one up yesterday but Adam made fun of it."

"What was it?" Gavin asked the wide eyed man.

"I was gonna call it 'All That Glitters'."

Gavin squawked out a laugh. "It sounds like a gay bar."

"That is exactly what Adam said." Joel admitted.

The two men glanced at each other in silence before Joel turned away. He pulled slightly at his gloves and glanced around the bar.

"So, you locked a kid in back?" Gavin asked.

"Well...technically, yes."

"What the bloody hell does that mean?!"

"He's kinda unconscious." Joel said.

"Did you knock him out?!" Gavin cried.

"Kinda?" Joel rubbed the back of his neck. "I blew the sleep powder Griffon gave me on him."

"Joel!"

"He touched me! I had to!"

Gavin rolled his eyes and began to walk to the back. Joel grabbed the keys and followed him. He unlocked the door and let Gavin in. Gavin saw the sleeping young man on the couch. His black hair was messy and his glasses were askew. Gavin stared at him, eyes squinted.

"He seems familiar?" Gavin murmured. Joel nodded in agreement.

"I thought he was an Everafter when he came in but he couldn't see the glamoured customers. I _think_ he's a mundie."

Gavin kneeled down next to the young man. He lifted his arms a few times and made sure he was breathing correctly. Joel watched him like a hawk, trying not to panic. Gavin stood and looked at Joel.

"He's fine." he explained, ignoring Joel's sigh of relief. "How do we wake him up?"

"Oh, that's easy." Joel said. He grabbed a bottle of water off the shelf. Uncapping it, he walked to the young man and splashed the water in his face.

The young man bolted awake sputtering and coughing. He glared at the two men.

"What the fuck?!"

"Sorry, dude, we had to wake you up." Gavin said.

"Wake me up?"

"You got knocked out in the bar." Joel quickly covered. "One of my regulars hit you in the head. Do you remember your name and where you are?"

The young man rubbed his head. "My name's Ray. And, I'm in some bar in Austin."

"Yep! Nice to meet you, Ray! I'm Gavin." Gavin smiled.

Ray fixed his glasses and narrowed his eyes at Gavin. "You the asshole that knocked me out?"

"Ah, yeah. Honest mistake. Terribly sorry about that." Gavin lied.

Ray sat for a few moments before rolling his eyes and smiling.

"Nah, it's cool. I just flew in from New York. Flight got delayed a few hours. And, I don't have a headache so I'm guessing I probably just passed out." he stood up and checked his phone. “Plus, it doesn't feel like you hit me too hard.”

The other two men stood awkwardly, staring at the younger man. There was something about him that seemed...magical? He wasn’t an Everafter, that was for sure. But, there was still something about him that seemed off, though they couldn't quite pinpoint it.

“So, what brings you to Austin?” Joel asked, watching Ray’s every movement carefully.

“I’m moving here eventually. Got tired of being in New York. My mom…” Ray paused. “My mom told me Austin was a great place and I already have a friend here so.”

“Oh awesome! Maybe we’ll see you more!” Gavin smiled.

“Uh, yeah. I guess so.” Ray dialed a number on his phone and grabbed his bag by the couch. “Sorry, I really gotta take off.”

“No worries! See you later, X-Ray!” Gavin called.

Ray shot him a weird look before shrugging. He pressed his phone to his ear. “Hey, Tina! Sorry, I got tied up somewhere…”

Joel and Gavin watched him walk to the door. As he exited the bar, he bumped into someone. Ray muttered a quick apology and left as Michael glared at him. Michael snorted and walked slowly to the bar, hands balled in the pockets of his hoodie. Joel moved behind the bar.

“Hey, Michael. What can I get you?”

“Moonshine. Just a shot of it.” Michael grumbled.

Joel eyed him as he grabbed the bottle. Gavin sat at the end of the bar and watched Michael. He took note of how pale he was and how he slumped forward slightly. Joel handed him the shot-glass full of moonshine.

Michael sat up slightly, gritting his teeth. He quickly put his money on the counter and took the shot. Joel picked the money up and eyed it slightly.

“You okay?”

“I’m fine, Joel.” Michael said.

“There’s blood on this money.”

Michael rolled his eyes and pulled his hand out of his pocket. Wrapped around his palm was a blood soaked rag. Gavin drew in a sharp breath.

“Picked up a silver knife by accident.” Michael said shortly. “Cut the shit out of my hand.”

Joel gave him a look of disbelief. He poured another shot and handed it to Michael. Michael started to protest, but Joel held up his hand.

“It’s on the house. You look like you might need it.”

Michael downed it gratefully. He stood up and shoved his hand back into his pocket.

“Hey, kid.” Joel called, drawing Michael’s attention. “If that doesn't get better come back here, okay?”

Michael waved his hand at him before walking out. Gavin turned back to Joel.

“What’s going on with him?”

“Don’t know…” Joel picked up the money and shot glass, carefully placing them in a drawer behind the counter. “I got a bad feeling though.”

Gavin shifted in his seat. “Hey, Joel. You know where everyone lives, right?”

“Mostly, yeah.”

“Where does Michael live?” Gavin asked.

“Why, you wanna bring him flowers and a ‘get well soon’ card?” Joel smirked.

“No, just curious.”

Joel thought for a moment. “I think he lives in a run down apartment complex downtown. The same one Schumacher lives in.”

Gavin felt his heart begin to pound in his chest. The blood on Michael’s hands might not have come from a knife like he said. If he lived so close to Taylor, could he have heard about the murder? And, if he had, where did the blood come from? Gavin stood, deciding he’d follow the other man.

"Well, I should take off." Gavin announced. He began to walk away.

"Uh-hey, wait! Gavin." Joel placed a gloved hand on Gavin's shoulder, quickly pulling it away when he got his attention. Joel looked down at the gloves for a long moment. Gavin frowned, feeling sympathy toward the older man.

"What is it, J-roll?" Gavin asked, knowing what the question would be.

"Have you...you haven't found her yet, have you?" Joel asked sadly. "There haven't been any updates or anything?"

"I'm sorry, Joel."

Joel seemed to deflate. Gavin knew the majority of Everafters had lived for a long time, but he couldn't help but notice how old Joel seemed in that moment. Years of searching for her only to have nothing come up weighed heavily on his heart.

“If we hear anything at all, even if it’s small, you’ll be the first person we contact.” Gavin assured him.

Joel sighed heavily and leaned against the bar. “Yeah. I know. Trust me, I've been hearing that for years now.”

Joel flexed his fingers under his gloves and looked back at Gavin. “Can you do me a favor and tell Griffon I might need a new pair of gloves soon? These ones are starting to get stiff.”

“Of course, Joel.” Gavin turned to leave when he thought of something. “Hey! You wouldn't happen to know where Dr. Frankenstein lives, would you?”

Joel looked at him in surprise. “Yeah. He lives outside of town in a little suburb area. I think he lives on Birch Street. Nice little house at the end of the street, kinda far from everyone else.”

Gavin’s face lit up. “Thanks, Joel!”

He turned and left, pulling his phone out of his pocket.

**Gavin- “Found Frankenstein! Sending you the address. Also, let Griffon know to make Joel new gloves.”**

Joel watched Gavin leave. The bar was empty now and Joel felt tired. He locked the door behind Gavin and walked to the back, sitting on the sofa. He grabbed a small pillow from behind him and plucked a button off it. Taking a deep breath, he slowly removed one of his gloves, being careful to put it down. He silently hoped this time would be different. He shakily reached for the button and closed his palm around it. He closed his eyes and prayed.

He slowly opened his hand and looked down, letting out a choked sob. The button had been turned to solid gold. He flung the golden button across the room and quickly slipped his glove back on. Joel sat in silence, cursing himself for the greed of his past self.

_~~~“It is a very lonely life that a man leads, who becomes aware of truths before their times.” -Thomas Reed~~~_

“Why the fuck are there so many streets outside of Austin called ‘Birch Street’?” Geoff groaned.

“It is a fairly common name.” Jack said. “But, hey, at least this is the last one.”

“Asshole better be here.” Geoff grumbled. They’d been driving around for hours trying to find Frankenstein after receiving Gavin’s text and hearing everything was fine with Joel. Jack glanced over at Geoff.

“I gotta ask you something.”

“Go for it.”

“Is Gavin okay?” Jack asked. “Like, for real. I know I asked you back at the house but...I don’t know. He just seems really off.”

Geoff sighed. “I don’t know, Jack. He’s been kinda off for a while now. I think it might be a mortality thing; you know, like how he can see everyone around him getting older and he’s finally feeling the impact of it?”

“He hasn't had to go through it yet, has he?”

“Having someone close to him dying? No. And, I’m hoping he won’t have to suffer that for a while.”

Jack nodded silently. They parked the car at the end of the street.

“You ready?” Jack asked.

“The sooner we get this over with the better.” Geoff said.

The two men walked down the street, ignoring the setting sun behind them. If they were lucky, this would be the last place they needed to look. Assuming Dr. Frankenstein did in fact live there.

“Is _that_ it?” Jack asked, nodding to the decent sized house at the end of the street.

“Well, it fits what Joel said it’d look like.” Geoff said.

“Joel didn't give us much of a description to work with.”

“Worth a shot. Let’s find out.” Geoff shrugged.

They approached the stone house and were relieved to see a car in the car port. As they got closer, Geoff could see it giving off a faint wave of glamour that most Everafter residences gave off.

“I think this is our place.” Geoff said. “You know what this guy looks like?”

“I haven’t seen him in a while but yeah, you never really forget a guy who was insanely fascinated by the fact your cursed form was made up of different animals.” Jack chuckled. “To be fair, Disney got the closest to what it looks like.”

Geoff let out a small laugh and knocked on the door. After a moment, the door opened to reveal a man with bright blue eyes behind a pair of glasses. He looked confused for a second before seeing Jack. He looked back to Geoff with a look of recognition.

“Can I help you, gentlemen?” he asked evenly.

“Victor Frankenstein, correct?” Geoff smiled. The man flinched slightly.

“I haven’t been called that in years, but yes. That would be me.” he said.

“May we come in?” Geoff asked.

“If you tell me why you’re here, maybe.”

Jack shook his head and stepped closer, lowering his voice. “There’s been an incident that we could use your help with.”

“An ‘incident’?” the man asked, eyebrow raising. “What kind of ‘incident’?”

“The dead kind.” Geoff said, watching the man go pale. “Not your creature! That guy’s still way up north being called a yeti.”

The man visibly relaxed. With a sigh, he stepped aside and allowed them in. Geoff turned to the man and offered his hand.

“Geoff Ramsey, member of the Grimm family.” he said. “You said you don’t go by Victor so…”

“Ryan.” he said, shaking Geoff’s hand. “Ryan Haywood is what I go by now.”

Jack’s mouth turned up in a smile. “Kinda fitting.”

“What, ‘Haywood’?” Ryan chuckled. “Yeah, I guess considering my second profession.”

“Oh right! I forget you belonged to two stories. My bad.” Geoff said.

“What can I say, I have a knack for bringing things to life. Even when I don’t do it on purpose.”

Geoff and Jack let out uneasy laughs. Ryan closed the door behind him and took off his glasses.

“So, what’s the real reason you came here?” he asked.

Geoff took a seat on the couch. “How much do you know about Taylor Schumacher?”

“The little old lady in the shoe?” Ryan crinkled his nose. “Not much. I've seen her kids a few times here and there. And I heard about them getting taken away last week. Why?”

Jack and Geoff gave each other a look. Geoff turned back to Ryan. “She’s dead.”

Ryan sucked in a shocked breath, eyes widening. “Like, _dead_ dead?”

“We came from her apartment a few hours ago.” Jack said. “It was brutal.”

Ryan sat in stunned silence. It wasn’t often you heard about one of your own dying.

“We need your help.” Geoff said, drawing Ryan’s attention.

Ryan hesitated. “I can’t...look, making and reanimating the creature was a mistake I made a long time ago. An experiment gone horribly right. When my boy was made real; that was magic. I had nothing to do with that.”

“We’re not asking you to bring her back to life.” Geoff explained. “We need you to come with us and help us figure out what killed her.”

“You couldn't have gotten a doctor?”

“You were the only doctor we could think of that was actually qualified.” Jack said. “We just spent the last couple hours trying to find you.”

Ryan gnawed on his bottom lip and looked over at the table in the dining room. Geoff turned and followed his gaze, seeing the table littered with various children’s toys that were broken in some way or another. Geoff looked back at Ryan. Ryan caught him staring and stopped chewing on his lip.

“The kids in the neighborhood come over here when they break their toys.” Ryan explained. “It reminds me of my toy shop back in Italy.”

The room was quiet for a long moment. Ryan sighed.

“I haven’t worked with dead human bodies in a _long_ time.” Ryan said. “But, I will come take a look. If she actually _was_ murdered, it’d be a good idea to check her out in case another victim pops up with the same injuries.”

“You think it’s gonna happen again?” Geoff asked in surprise.

“We haven’t had a murder happen in years to my knowledge. Depending on how she was killed, we’ll be able to guess if it was an isolated event or not.” Ryan stood up, placing his glasses on the table and grabbing his jacket.

Geoff looked relieved. “Thank you, Ryan.”

“Don’t thank me just yet, I’m still not sure if I’ll be able to help you.” he said.

The men walked out of the house and began to walk down the street, deciding it’d be easier to ride together rather than meet up at the apartment.

“So,” Jack smiled. “How’s your boy doing?”

“Pinocchio? He’s doing great!” Ryan grinned. “Still over in Italy watching over my old shop. Wish he’d come visit, but after the whale incident a couple hundred years back he’s still not so sure about travelling oversea.”  

_~~~“When one creature is murdered, another is immediately deprived of life in a slow torturing manner...” -Mary Shelley~~~_

The pace at which Michael was walking was excruciatingly slow. The burning on both his palms was driving him crazy. If he were able to walk faster, he would have. The quicker he could get to his destination was ideally the better.

Of course, he hadn't been accounting for the idiot behind him to be following him the last few hours. At first, Michael tried to ignore him and go on his way. But after three hours of being followed, it was starting to get on his nerves. He finally stopped and whirled around.

" _What_ , Gavin?!" Michael yelled, trying to ignore the sharp pain in his torso.

Gavin let out a squawk of surprise and halted. "I actually didn't think you'd know my name. Or, my _new_ name at least."

"Please, everyone knows who you are." Michael rolled his eyes. "Every Everafter in town knows about how the wayward son of the Grimms married one of us and has another one living with them. Nobody's too happy about it, especially considering how the Grimms are."

"Geoff's not like them!" Gavin protested, defending his friend. "He let me stay with him and Griffon after I left home."

"And you really think he would've if 'Griffon' hadn't convinced him to do so?" Michael snapped. Gavin didn't answer. "Yeah, that's what I thought."

As Michael turned to leave, he felt Gavin grip his wrist. He turned and swung his fist at Gavin's face but stopped as he doubled over. Pain jolted through his body. Gavin quickly grabbed him by the shoulders to keep him steady, looking worried.

"I'm fine! Get off me, asshole." Michael barked, quickly moving away.

Gavin eyed him. "Do you know Taylor Schumacher?"

"Of course I know her, I live down the hall from the bitch!  I'm glad her damn kids got taken away from her finally. No thanks to the _Grimms_. Maybe if they gave a shit, those kids would've been taken away sooner."

"Did you know she's dead?!" Gavin snapped, seeing the color drain from Michael's face. "She was found murdered in her apartment earlier today. Officer Bear and Officer Woods called Geoff about it."

"That's why you're here." Michael whispered, backing away. "Woods sent you after me, didn't he?! He thinks I had something to do with it!"

"Michael-"

"I didn't fucking kill her!" Michael yelled, looking slightly panicked. "You can't believe him! I wasn't even home last night! I was with-"

He stopped and said nothing else. His heart pounded painfully in his rib cage and the front of his shirt felt wet.

"With who?" Gavin asked calmly. "Michael, if there's anyone who can support what you say, we can clear all this up and write it off as a misunderstanding."

Michael shook his head. "I can't tell you. I don't want her to get hurt."

"What do you mean?"

"If I'm sent away because of this, and I know Woods will find a way for that to happen, he'll go after her. He already hates me being near her and he makes her uncomfortable. If I'm not there, I don't know what he'll try to pull." Michael said slowly. "I didn't have anything to do with Taylor's death. I swear."

Gavin put his hands on Michael's shoulders. "I believe you. I won't make you say anything, but please consider at least talking to Geoff. He can help you."

Michael didn't reply. It was then Gavin noticed how sick he looked. Furrowing his brow, he looked down at Michael's hand.

"That wound really isn't doing well, is it?" he gently grasped Michael’s wrist and attempted to look at the cut.

"It's fine." Michael grunted, shoving away from Gavin.

"Michael, you're hurt. At least let Griffon take a look at it."

"I said it's fine." Michael snapped. He saw Gavin start to move forward out of the corner of his eye. "Now beat it."

"Michael, just let me help you." Gavin pleaded.

"No, fucking go already!" Michael snapped. He took deep breaths and slowly walked away.

"Michael..."

Michael whipped his head around and growled at Gavin, eyes glowing red and teeth bared. Gavin put his hands up in defense and backed away. Michael continued on his way.

"If you do need help, please don't hesitate to call. I believe you." Gavin called, a gust of wind carrying his voice away.

Michael turned to snap at him again but found the street empty. He pressed his lips into a thin line and continued down the street. A shot of pain wracked his body a few minutes later, causing him to cry out and brace himself against the near by wall.

He blearily looked up and looked at the apartment complex in front of him. He knew that if he could just make it up a few flights of stairs he'd be in the clear. He shoved off the wall, pressing himself to move forward. He could feel his breath growing shallow and his body heating up. He had to keep going.

_"Second floor, right, fourth door down. Second floor, right, fourth door down."_ Michael repeated mentally.

His vision was almost completely blurred by the time he remembered to turn right on the second floor. He clutched the railing for dear life as he tried his best to count the doors. He silently hoped it just appeared like he was drunk to any mundies near by.

He finally reached the fourth door, putting a hand out and bracing himself against the door frame. Taking a few deep breaths, he lifted his fist and pounded on the door. Michael couldn't fully comprehend the relief he felt when he saw it open. He heard a gasp come from the door. He gave a weak smile.

"Hi, Lindsay."

Michael felt his arm give out and let himself fall forward into the arms of the woman in front of him.

"Oh my God, Michael?! Michael, what happened?!"

He felt Lindsay lower him to the ground and heard the sound of the door shutting and locking. Michael weakly grabbed at Lindsay's hand as she opened his jacket. He could hear her panicked cry when she saw the blood pouring from the wound on his torso.

"Silver..." he said weakly. "It burns..."

"Just hang on, I'm gonna call someone." Lindsay squeezed his hand and stood.

Michael felt his breath slowing down. Everything came back into a sharp focus as darkness crept on the corner of his vision. He watched Lindsay frantically speaking on the phone and reached out for her. There were so many thoughts going through his head. So much pain and regret. So many things left unsaid.

"Lindsay...I'm sor...I...." he whispered. "I love..."

He coughed violently as darkness took over. Lindsay turned back to him.

"Michael? MICHAEL?!" 

 


	3. A Caste in Blood

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! Sorry I’ve been MIA for the last month. It took me forever to write this chapter since I started my new job. But, now that I’ve got a set schedule I’ll hopefully get back to regular updates. I’ve got a good portion of the story mapped out, which has really helped with planning what parts I’m going to put where. 
> 
> Another note I was going to make really quick: I made a new tag on Tumblr for this story called “AH Everafter AU”. That way it’ll be a little easier to find on there, hopefully. Anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter and sorry again for the delay!
> 
> ~C.C

Geoff had been standing in silence for roughly ten minutes, waiting patiently as Ryan examined Taylor's corpse. He could hear Ryan mutter to himself every so often; mostly soft exclamations of _"fuck"_ and _"shit"_. Finally, Ryan looked up and sighed heavily.

"So, what's the cause of death?" Geoff asked.

"Well, that would clearly be the gaping wound in her chest, Geoff."

"Yeah, no shit. I mean do we know _how_ she died?" Geoff cut him off as he opened his mouth. "And I swear to God, if you say _'probably from the stab wound_ ', I’m gonna punch you."

"Technically, that is what caused it." Ryan said. "She was stabbed twice in the chest by, what I can only guess was, a sword. The size of the lacerations suggest that."

"She was stabbed _twice_?!" Geoff asked.

"How do you know?" Jack asked.

Ryan readjusted the gloves he had on and gently turned Taylor's body over. Surrounded by dried blood was another laceration, much smaller and higher than the one on her front. Geoff and Jack winced.

"The initial stab was meant to kill her, but the killer was clearly inexperienced. They didn't have enough force to stab her all the way through to her back, which would make sense considering the angle that they stabbed her." Ryan looked at Geoff and Jack, seeing the confused looks they gave him. Ryan sighed.

"The reason she was contorted was because she was put on her knees. In her drugged out state, I don't think she really tried to fight back or could if she'd tried. The killer stabbed her at an awkward angle, much lower than they probably meant. It could be that they weren't used to using the sword they used to commit the murder. It must’ve been heavier than they expected." Ryan turned Taylor back over on her back and lifted up her shirt, exposing an oval shaped bruise on her abdomen.

"I don't think they were able to get the sword out easily. So, they used her stomach as a brace and forced her on her back; not a comfortable position in the least if your knees are bent and your arms are tied behind you, by the way. They were then able to stab her at a downward angle and probably took the sword when they left. The bruise is from their boot or shoe and the weight they put on that foot to get the sword in and out."

"Jesus Christ." Geoff whispered as he heard the explanation.

"So, she suffered?" Jack asked. Ryan sighed heavily.

"I don't know. I have no way of knowing if she was drugged up before hand or what, so I can't say for certain."

Geoff turned around and punched the wall behind him, causing the men to jump.

"Jesus, Geoff." Jack muttered.

"We're catching this sick son of a bitch." Geoff growled. "Nobody deserves to die this way."

"There _was_ something else I found that was odd." Ryan spoke up. Geoff looked back at him, waiting for an explanation. Ryan beckoned them over.

Geoff walked over, kneeling next to Ryan and the body. As much as he didn’t want to look at her, Geoff knew he had to. Geoff squinted and was able to see small traces of a silver colored liquid in her wounds, mixed with the dried blood on her torso.

"There's some form of liquefied metal mixed in the wound. I _think_ it's silver." he said.

"So...the sword was made of silver?" Jack asked.

"Either that or someone somehow managed to dip it in liquid silver before using it." Ryan said. "Kind weird, considering it'd mean the blade was heated but it doesn't seem like the wound cauterized."

"Why would someone dip a fucking sword in silver?" Geoff asked.

"I don't know. Maybe they have another target? Or maybe they thought she'd have a negative reaction to silver." Ryan’s phone started ringing from his pocket, causing the three men to jump.

"Go ahead and take that." Geoff said. Ryan nodded and took off his gloves, retrieving  his phone from his pocket.

"So, what do you think?" Jack asked.

Geoff ran a hand over his face. "I think I need a drink."

Jack said nothing and stared at Geoff. Geoff sighed.

"I _think_ Ryan might be right." Geoff admitted. "This is too weird of a murder to be an isolated event. I just wanna know why the fucker used a _sword_ if that is the murder weapon. Seems kinda dated."

"It's probably something from our world." Jack said. "Something magic, I mean. What else could kill an Everafter?"

“It would explain the heated metal thing too, I guess.” Geoff muttered.

Ryan re-entered the room and waved Geoff over. He was still on the phone. Geoff knew something was wrong by the way Ryan had gone slightly pale. He had a slight look of panic in his eyes, though Geoff could tell the man was trying his best to hide it behind a calm facade.

"Lindsay, listen to me. You _need_ to breathe. I can't help you if you can't tell me what's going on." Ryan activated the loudspeaker. "What happened?"

"M-Michael just came to my apartment. There's blood everywhere, Ryan." Lindsay said, sounding close to tears.

"Is it from you?" Ryan demanded. "Did he hurt you?!"

"No! God no, it's him! He's bleeding from his chest and his hands! It looks like someone stabbed him!"

Geoff felt his blood run cold. Ryan set his jaw and spoke calmly.

"Lindsay, I need you to answer something for me. Was there silver in his blood?"

"I-I think so? He told me his hands were burning because of silver." Lindsay answered. "Please just help! I think he's dying!"

"Jack, go get Bear and Woods and let them know Michael's been-" Geoff started.

"NO! Don't tell them please! I don't want them over here!" Lindsay begged.

"They won't." Ryan assured, glaring at Geoff. "But, I need to let Geoff come over. There's something bad going on and we fear Michael might be involved."

"Yes, fine, please! Just, I need him to be okay. Please, Ryan."

"We'll be over soon, red. Just keep pressure on the wound and start CPR if needed."

Geoff turned to Jack and opened his mouth. Jack shook his head, tossing his keys to Geoff.

"You and Ryan go to Lindsay. I'll explain what happened to Bear. Go!"

"Thanks, Jack." Geoff nodded to Ryan. Both men bolted out the door. Once they reached the car, Geoff nearly took off without Ryan.

"She’s downtown. The really nice apartments with the gate in front of it. I know the code to get in." Ryan said, bracing himself as Geoff slammed on the gas.

"Why'd she call _you_ and not the police?" Geoff asked.

"Because she trusts me more than she trusts the police. Do you _really_ think Lindsay'd call the police with Hunter still on the force?"

Geoff swerved in the road, jumping the curb. He made a mental note to pay for any damage done to Jack's car later.

"Is Lindsay Little Red Riding Hood?" Geoff asked.

"How out of touch are you?!" Ryan snapped. " _Yes_ , she's Little Red! You're a member of the fucking Grimm family, shouldn't you know this stuff?!"

"Hey, I don't exactly have a strong connection to the main house! I don't receive a lot of information. Forgive me if I’m a little out of touch!"

"Well, you need to get back _in_ touch, Geoff! It's part of your job!"

Both men sat seething as they sped toward Lindsay’s apartment. Geoff swerved to the left.

“Okay, yeah, I’ll admit you’re right.” Geoff said, looking at Ryan. “I do need to try harder. But, we’re not enemies here. I’m on your side.”

Geoff looked back at the road and slammed on the breaks, throwing an arm out to keep Ryan from flying forward. He let out a breathless laugh as they halted at the gate in front of them.

“Glamour charms can hide a lot of things, but a broken gate is not one of them.”

Ryan rolled his eyes and rolled down the window, pressing the code into the keypad. As soon as the gate was open, Geoff quickly followed Ryan’s directions. Once they parked, Geoff ripped open the glove box and pulled out four wooden necklaces.

“Jack always keeps a bunch of glamour charms in his car.” Geoff explained, handing one to Ryan.

“Smart man.”

Geoff got out of the car and followed Ryan up the stairs. He could hardly keep up with the other man as they rushed up the stairs, running seemingly on autopilot as Ryan rushed to Lindsay's door. Geoff ignored the small tremor in Ryan's hand as he raised his fist, knocking twice. He paused briefly before grabbing the handle and twisting it. The door opened with a _click_.

"Oh my God." Geoff whispered as they entered the apartment. Lindsay looked up, face pale and hands covered in blood. Michael lay motionless on the floor. Ryan quickly made his way over to them and grabbed Michael's wrist. After a small pause, he opened one of Michael's eyes and sucked in a breath.

"Is he-" Geoff started.

"No, he's alive. But, very weak." Ryan stood up. "We need to take him back to my house. I can treat him there."

"I thought you said you weren't a doctor anymore." Geoff said.

"That doesn't mean I don't patch some people up from time to time." Ryan kneeled down next to Lindsay and gently grabbed her by the shoulders. He whispered something to her and waited for her to respond. Lindsay nodded slightly, blinking a few times. Ryan rubbed her arms reassuringly before looking at Geoff.

"Geoff, come here and help me get him up."

Geoff rushed over and put one of the glamour charms around Michael's neck. He handed the other one to Lindsay.

"Okay, we're gonna pick him up on the count of three. Lindsay, we'll need you to keep pressure on the wound once we get him in the car." Ryan said, keeping eye contact with Lindsay until she nodded.

Ryan wrapped an arm around Michael's back and another under his legs, motioning for Geoff to do the same.

"Ready? One, two, three, up!"

He and Geoff stood up at the same time, keeping firm grips on Michael and they headed for the door. They headed down the hall as quickly as they could, Ryan throwing a look over his shoulder every few seconds to make sure Lindsay was following them.

"Get the car open, I got him." Ryan said, taking Michael into his arms. "Lindsay, get in first. I'm gonna put him on your lap so you can keep pressure on the wound easier."

Geoff unlocked the car, getting into the drivers seat as Lindsay crawled into the back. Ryan carefully placed Michael in the back seat. He took his jacket off and balled it up, placing it firmly on Michael's wound. He gently grabbed one of Lindsay's hand and pressed it in his place. Lindsay looked up at him.

"Ryan," she asked, voice thick with tears. "Will he be okay?"

Ryan looked at her, feeling his heart sink as he looked at her. He squeezed her hand, rubbing a thumb on the back of it.

"I'm gonna take care of him, Lindsay. I'm gonna help him."

 

_~~~“The weapon of the advocate is the sword of the soldier, not the dagger of the assassin.” -Alexander Cockburn~~~_

 

 Gavin was completely exhausted by the time he'd gotten back to the house. The buses had stopped running early that night which forced him to walk home. He'd briefly considered calling Geoff to pick him up but didn't want to interrupt the investigation.

He'd been grateful that Griffon hadn't asked any questions upon finding him unconscious on the couch and hadn't woke him up. What had woken him up was the sound of the doorbell being continuously rang. Gavin groaned and got off the couch; mentally preparing himself for more bad news to come. He opened the door groggily and was was confused to see a grinning man in front of him.

"Hey there, Gav-o! Miss me?!" the man asked.

Gavin paused for a moment before registering who was in front of him. He let out a squawk of excitement and hugged the man around the neck.

"Burnie! What are you doing here?! I thought you were still at the Courts!"

Burnie chuckled and patted the lad on the back. "I was! I stopped by to talk to Griffon. Official business and all."

Gavin pulled back, giving him a look of confusion. "Is everything okay?"

Burnie looked hesitant as Griffon walked into the room. She stopped in her tracks and gave him a large smile.

"Burnie! What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Got tired of trying to be the buffer between my girlfriend and your mother." he joked, giving the smaller woman a quick hug. "You can only take so much arguments of how to run a kingdom properly before you want to leave."

Griffon rolled her eyes. "I’m not her daughter."

"Technically, no. But, she did claim you as it so you don't really have a choice in the matter. Especially since she outranks you."

“Technically, she’s _your_ mother.”

“Yeah, but she’s not my biggest fan right now. I wouldn't be surprised if she made you her successor instead of me.” Burnie laughed, albeit nervously.

Griffon looked at him and narrowed her eyes. "Something's wrong. I can see it in your eyes."

Burnie paused, nodding slightly. Gavin closed the door behind them.

"What's going on?" Gavin asked.

Burnie sat down and rubbed the back of his neck. "Chrysaor is missing."

Gavin’s eyes widened in shock as he heard Griffon let out a gasp.

“What do you mean it’s _missing_?!” Griffon asked. “Swords don’t just disappear, Burnie! Especially that one!”

“I realize that, but somehow it happened!” Burnie said. “We heard an alarm last week go off but nobody paid any attention to it. We get new warriors signing up all the time and use Chrysaor to make sure their reasons are ‘just’. It’s a ritual thing.”

“How’d they manage to get it out of the courts?!” Griffon demanded. “That’s not a sword that can just be carried in and out of the land of the Fae on a whim!”

“Which is why I came here, I think it was brought to the mundie world.” Burnie explained. “I wanted to let you guys know in case you saw some fucker walking around with a gold sword and assumed it’s a part of some comicon costume or something.”

Griffon paced around the room for a moment before giving Burnie a sharp look.

“Did _you_ take it?”

“ _What_?! No!”

“Be honest with me, Burnie!” Griffon snapped. “You are the self-proclaimed _‘Trickster King’_. It sounds like something you’d do to stir up trouble.”

“Not this time.” Burnie said firmly. “I wouldn't mess with something like this. And, I wouldn't have come here to warn you if I had.”

“Could a mundie or an Everafter take it without the Fae knowing?” Gavin asked.

Burnie furrowed his brow. “It’s unlikely since everyone needs clearance to get into the land of the Fae, but it’s not impossible. Chrysaor’s kinda like Excalibur in that it chooses whether it’ll work for it’s possessor. If it deems your actions as ‘just’ then it’ll be the sharpest weapon in the world. If not, it’s about as good as a rubber sword.”

“Which is why Queen Astrae made it for Sir Artegal the Just back when the war of the Fae happened. He used it to defend the mundies being affected by the war and helped establish the Courts after they split into Seelie and Unseelie.” Griffon added, turning to Gavin. “It’s an important part of our history.”

Gavin pulled out his phone with a shaky hand and scrolled to Geoff’s number. Griffon glanced at his hand.

“You think it’s connected?” she asked.

Gavin nodded silently before exiting the room to talk to Geoff. Burnie looked at Griffon in confusion.

“What’s going on?” he asked.

“Something bad, Burnie.” Griffon replied. “I can’t go into a lot of detail about it. But, Chrysaor going missing could be connected to our thing. Once I find out for sure, I’ll let you know and alert the Courts.”

Burnie pressed his lips into a thin line, but accepted what Griffon had to say. He stood up and gave Griffon a hug.

“I have to take off now, but I may be back. If you guys need any help I’ll see what I can do on behalf of the Fae.” he pulled back. “You’re welcome to come home whenever you want to, you know?”

“Thank you, Burnie, but I am happy here. Really.” Griffon assured him.

“I know you are, but consider coming to visit soon. If anything, it may make your mother happy.”

Griffon suppressed the urge to roll her eyes. There was no way she was going to go back to the Courts as long as her ‘mother’ was still in charge.

“I fear if I do, she won’t let me leave.”

Burnie considered that for a moment. “Yeah, you may have a point.”

He turned to the door and started to leave. “Stay safe, Griffon. I trust that you and your husband know what your doing. If you need help, don’t hesitate to contact me. Whatever’s happening seems pretty serious.”

“As soon as I know what’s actually going on I’ll let you know.” Griffon said. “I promise.”

 

_~~~“Rare as is true love, true friendship is rarer.” -Jean de La Fontaine~~~_

 

Ryan waited anxiously as Geoff talked to Lindsay. He'd spent the last several hours working on stabilizing and cleaning up Michael's wound, documenting everything he could in between.

He’d figured out Michael's condition had improved the hard way when the younger male bolted upright earlier, teeth bared and had attempted to maul Ryan. Luckily, he had him secured to the table well enough that he'd escaped with only a minor bite.

Geoff finally stood up and made his way to Ryan, checking his phone for what must’ve been close to the hundredth time that evening. Ryan felt a pang of sympathy for the tattooed Grimm. He seemed to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders, and for what? For a community that hated his family and a family that didn't accept him?

"How's Michael?" he asked tiredly.

"Stable. I got as much of the silver out of him as I could and stitched him up. I'm going to keep an eye on him tonight to make sure he'll stay that way." Ryan sighed. "Though, I don't know how Lindsay's gonna take the news that I'm making her stay away from him until he regains full consciousness."

Geoff gave him a puzzled look. Ryan shrugged simply and picked at a thread on his lab coat. "I don't want him accidentally hurting her."

"You two are close, huh?"

"We...yeah. We're close." Ryan said.

Geoff continued to stare at him. Ryan rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I'll email you the actual report on Taylor's death and Michael's condition for evidence. But, Geoff, I really do think there's something big going on here. His wounds looked similar to the ones Taylor had and for it to happen within, as far as we know, a couple hours of each other I'm afraid-"

Geoff held up his hand, cutting Ryan off. He glanced over his shoulder at Lindsay for a moment.

"We'll discuss it more later. For now, just keep Michael alive and take care of Lindsay. I'll let Jack and Bear know what's going on when I get home. Just...stay safe, okay?"

Ryan nodded solemnly as Geoff walked past him. He grabbed the tattooed man by the arm. Geoff looked back at him, waiting.

"Geoff, I can't explain my reasons behind what I'm about to ask you, mainly because it's not my place to explain. Just, please, do _not_ let Hunter find out Lindsay's here. That's the last thing she needs right now."

Geoff started to ask what he meant but closed it when he saw the hard look Ryan gave him.

"Okay." he said simply. "I promise I won't."

Ryan visibly relaxed and let go of Geoff's arm. He watched him walk out the door. After a few minutes, he locked the door. He glanced over at where Lindsay was sitting on the couch, eyes locked on the door leading to the basement. He opened the hall closet quietly and shrugged off his coat. He grabbed a blanket from the closet and made his way to the couch.

Lindsay flinched slightly when she felt the blanket around her shoulders. She looked up to see Ryan sit next to her on the couch. She stared at him for a long moment, hands fidgeting in her lap. Wordlessly, Ryan wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her toward him, holding her securely as he rested his cheek on the top of her head. Lindsay felt her eyes well with tears as she gripped the front of his shirt.

“It’s okay, red. He’s stable right now.” Ryan whispered.

“I can’t see him, can I?” she asked.

“No. He’s stable but a little feral. I don’t know if he’ll recognize you. He already took a bite out of me.” he joked lightly, showing her his bandaged wrist.

Lindsay shook her head. “I can’t help but feel like I could’ve done more. God, if we lose him because I didn't react fast enough…”

“Lindsay, look at me.” Ryan said, taking her face in his hands and rubbing her tears away. “You did everything perfectly. Because of you, we were able to get to Michael in time. I fixed him up the best I could. We just have to wait it out. If anything, _you’re_ the reason he’s alive right now.”

Lindsay looked back at the basement door and worried her lip between her teeth. Ryan sighed, wrapping his arms around her again. It killed him to see her like this.

He’d known she and Michael were a thing for a while now, longer than anyone else in the town did. And, sure, he’d been a little worried when they’d started dating, given their history and Michael’s reputation, he’d openly admit that. But, the more she’d talked about Michael and their relationship, the more Ryan could see how much she loved him. He knew by the way her face lit up at the mention of his name and was happy to see her so in love. He knew that look well. The last time he’d seen it was when she was still in love with-

“Geoff said whoever tried to kill Michael might’ve killed Taylor.” Lindsay said, pulling Ryan from his thoughts. “He told me everything. He said you examined her body.”

“I did.” Ryan admitted.

“Do you think it’s true? That whoever killed Taylor went after Michael?”

Ryan paused for a moment, gathering his thoughts. “I believe so, yes. The weapon used to kill Taylor definitely made similar wounds to the ones Michael had. So, it’s completely logical to believe whoever killed Taylor tried to kill Michael.”

“But, why? Why would someone do this? And why now instead of years ago?”

Ryan bit his lip. “I don’t know, Lindsay. I really don’t.”

 

_~~~“Fairy tales to me are never happy, sweet stories. They're moral stories about overcoming the dark side and the bad.” -Joe Wright~~~_

 

“This is the second one in the last twenty-four hours, Geoff.” Gabriel said.

“Yeah, which is why I think something serious is going on.”

“And do we know whether or not the wolf is alive yet?”

“Ryan said he was able to get Michael stable.” Geoff sighed, adjusting the phone in his hand. “Whether or not he’ll live through the night is a completely different matter altogether. But, Ryan told me he’d call me and let me know if he took a turn for the worse.”

“And you’re sure the two crimes are linked?”

“I’m telling you, Michael’s wounds looked nearly identical to the ones Taylor had. Ryan’s gonna send me picture of Michael’s later tonight and Officer Bear’s gonna send over the report detailing Taylor’s death tomorrow.”

“What is your take on all of this?” Gabriel asked.

“I think whoever did this will strike again,” Geoff admitted, hating that thought completely. “What I don’t know is what the motive is.”

There was a long pause as Geoff heard Gabriel writing something and muttering to someone in the room. He felt Griffon rub his shoulders comfortingly.

“Do her kids know of their mother’s death?” Gabriel asked.

“Shit, not yet. Gavin and I are going over soon to talk to Rumple about it. I’m considering him a person of interest but seeing that he doesn't really have a reason to want to kill Michael that I’m aware of, it’ll be more of a check in than anything.”

“It’s always good to follow all leads, Geoff. If you don’t, you could end up losing the murderer for sure. Which, given your leniency with these Everafters, wouldn't surprise me.”

Geoff rolled his eyes. “Gee, thanks. That _almost_ seemed like it was going to be a compliment.”

Griffon tapped Geoff on the shoulder. He looked back at his wife and saw her mouth the word _‘sword’_.

“Oh! Right, Gabe, listen, there’s something else too!”

“What, Geoff?” Gabriel grumbled.

“Burnie came from the Courts with something that could be connected.”

“Who?” Gabriel asked, sounding genuinely confused for once.

“Right, you've never met him.” Geoff muttered. “Puck, the Trickster King.” 

“See, Geoff, this is why we don’t use false names for Everafters. It makes things less confusing.”

_“It wouldn't be confusing if you actually took the time to talk to some of these people, asshole.”_ Geoff thought bitterly. He rolled his eyes and continued.

“Whatever. Anyway, he came over today to talk to Griffon. Apparently there’s a sword called Chrysaor that went missing a few days ago from the land of the Fae. I think it could be connected to the murders, too.”

“You said the wolf and the woman in the shoe had traces of silver in their blood.” Gabriel said. “If I remember correctly, Chrysaor is a _golden_ sword.”

“It was _liquefied_ silver.” Geoff corrected. “Just because it was a gold sword doesn't mean it couldn't have been _dipped_ in silver.”

“Geoff, that is one of the most absurd things I've ever heard.” Gabriel said irritably. “Nobody would go through that much trouble if they were intending on killing two Everafters in one night.”

“It’s always good to follow all leads, _Gabe_. If you don’t, you could end up losing the murderer for sure.” Geoff mocked.

“The issues of those in the Fae Courts are none of our concerns, Ramsey.” Gabriel snapped. “What ever civil dispute they’re currently having doesn't affect us.”

“Are you serious?!” Geoff snapped. “I tell you the murder weapon is probably a sword, a sword goes missing from the land of the Fae, and you’re telling me we shouldn't be concerned about it?! You said it yourself, we can’t let leads like this die out!”

“Except this _isn't_ a lead!” Gabriel argued. “This is you trying to solve multiple problems at once by falsely connecting them together. Focus on the immediate matter at hand in our community and leave the sword thing to the Fae.”

“Well, maybe if you actually fucking _helped_ for once instead of sitting behind your _fucking_ desk we’d get somewhere! And maybe, just _maybe_ , if you gave two shits about the Everafters, they wouldn't fucking _hate_ us!” Geoff exploded.

Years of the injustice his family put on the Everafters finally seemed to boil over. It wouldn't have been the first time this had happened, but it certainly was the first time Geoff didn't immediately regret his words. He’d way past the need to be accepted by his family a long time ago.

“And, perhaps if you didn't mistake yourself for one of them, you would be able to focus on this case more.” Gabriel said coldly.

Geoff gripped his phone, nearly breaking it. He was about to hang up when Gabriel spoke up again.

“I’ll send someone over tomorrow to get you back on track; Lord knows you’ll need it.” Gabriel said. “Oh, and Geoff. Next time something like this happens, don’t make it your personal vendetta. The murderer will surely end up being an Everafter, our job is merely to catch them. What happens to them is what the other Everafters choose to do.”

Having heard enough, Geoff hung up angrily. He sat on the bed seething in anger. A smaller hand came into his line of sight and gently took his phone out of his hand. Griffon wrapped her arms around his shoulders and kissed the back of his neck.

“I know not a lot of them want to admit it,” Griffon whispered. “but, we really are grateful for everything you do, Geoff.”

“It feels like I’m not doing enough, though.” Geoff sighed. “And when I do do something I just fuck it up.”

“Sometimes you do, yeah.” Griffon turned his face toward hers. “But, you’re doing more for us than anyone in your family has for a long time. Up until you came along, we’d almost lost any hope for the Grimms ever bothering to help us again.”

She leaned forward and kissed him on the lips. “You've helped us before, and you’re going to help us now. I have no doubt about that.”

Geoff wrapped his arms around his wife’s waist and smiled softly. “How’d I get so lucky to marry someone like you?”

“Hmm, must’ve been magic.” Griffon giggled.

Geoff let out a soft laugh and kissed her.

 

_~~~“There are no secrets that time does not reveal.” -Jean Racine~~~_

 

Gavin sat silently in his room. He couldn't sleep. Everything that'd happen over the last few weeks weighed heavily on his mind. The night was quiet and he was sure Geoff and Griffon had gone to bed hours ago. He moved toward his closet and took a deep breath, looking over his shoulder cautiously. With everything that was going on right now, it was best to be careful.

He opened the door of his closet and reached toward the back of it, smiling slightly when his hand wrapped around what he was feeling for. Slowly, he pulled the sword from the closet. He walked to his couch and removed the sword from it's sheath, trying his best to ignore the dried blood that was on the dark blade.

Gavin let out a heavy sigh and reached for his phone, looking down at the sword sadly. He dialed the number and waited, his leg bouncing up and down nervously. After a few rings, the line clicked on.

“Gavin?” a groggy female voice asked. “Why are you calling; it’s the middle of the night.”

He let out a shaky sigh. “I need help.”

The woman on the other end paused. When she spoke again, her voice was more alert. “Are you alright? What’s wrong?”

He looked at the sword in his lap. “I need you to help me find someone.”

“Gavin, I don’t-”

“Please, Barbara. It’s really important.” he begged. “There’s some major shite going on down here in Austin and I need your help. I don’t want to drag you into all of it, but I just...I can’t do this by myself.”

There was a long silence. Finally, Barbara spoke up.

“Okay, I’ll get there as soon as I can tomorrow.”

“Thank you, Barbara.” Gavin whispered.

He hung up the phone and stared down at the sword, biting his lip. He know this was the only chance he’d have to find _her_. He’d made so many mistakes in the past and one of the ones he regretted the most was letting her get away. But, if Barbara could truly help him get to her he could fix everything.

Gavin put the sword back in its sheath, storing it in the back of his closet. He wished he could tell Geoff and Griffon about it. He wished he could tell them a lot of things. But, for now, it had to be his little secret. For their sake.


	4. The First Magic of Love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone!
> 
> I would like to apologize for not updating for so long. To be completely honest, this semester of college has been one of the most stressful I've had so far. This includes having multiple breakdown from stress and just no time or motivation to write. However, seeing that it is almost the end of the semester, I do hope to update more frequently. That being said, I hope you enjoy this chapter. It's actually one of my favorites that I've written so far. 
> 
> Sincerely,
> 
> ~C.C
> 
> P.S. For anyone curious or interested, the song I listened to on repeat while writing/editing the last part of this chapter was "Through" by Britney Christian. Yaaay music!

Geoff shook his head silently as he read over Ryan’s report. He’d read over it a million  times, taking multiple notes on everything he could and comparing the pictures of Michael and Taylor’s injuries. Every little detail he could think of he wrote down immediately. He couldn't afford to miss anything.

The beeping from the printer nearly made him jump out of his seat. He grumbled a bit as he scooted his chair over to the printer. It unnerved him to see larger images of the injuries blown upon the paper in front of him. Geoff had to remind himself multiple times while looking at Michael’s injuries that he’d survived the attack. The printer had done a great job in displaying the areas of the injuries on the pictures he’d taken that he hadn't been able to see on the computer screen. For once, he regretted buying such a high quality printer.

He carefully pinned the pictures to the corkboard in his office. He felt a little stupid for doing it; it reminded him of those cheesy cop shows he used to watch growing up. But, he did find that doing so helped a little bit. He reached for his coffee mug, only to realize it was empty. Geoff made a small sobbing noise in the back of his throat and walked out of his office.

As he passed the living room, something in the corner of his vision caused him to stop. He walked backwards and stared for a moment before walking into the room. He blinked, tilting his head in confusion at what could only be described as a forming mass in front of him.

"Hey, Griffon?" he called.

"Yeah?"

"Are you working on something in the living room?"

"No, all my work's outside!"

"Oh," Geoff paused. "Hey, Griffon?"

"Yes, Geoff?"

"Do you know why there's a portal thing forming in our living room?"

Geoff heard Griffon set down the dishes with a loud _clank_. She rushed into the room and stared at the forming mass.

"Huh." Griffon said. "Well, that's definitely not Burnie."

The couple stared at the forming mass as it grew in size.

"Should we be concerned?" Geoff asked.

"Well, unless an orc or a troll comes out...." Griffon trailed off.

The mass suddenly faded away. Within a few seconds, a large pillar of fire flared up before them.

"Oh shit!" Geoff gasped. Griffon ran to the kitchen, grabbing the fire extinguisher. Geoff looked around him and grabbed the Xbox controller from the couch.

The pillar of fire widened and began to burn brighter. Just as Griffon raised the hose of the fire extinguisher to the flames, the fire burned out. In its place stood a blonde woman in winter clothes wearing a beanie, a few bags of luggage sat between her feet as smoke billowed around her lightly. She held a box of matches in her hand.

"Howdy y'all!" she beamed. She looked at the surprised couple, eyes drawn to the Xbox controller in Geoff's hand. "You gonna hit me with that or...?"

"Barbara, what the fuck are you doing here?" Geoff asked.

"Gavin called me! He asked me to come down and help him with something!"

Geoff dropped the controller and began to walk to the back of the house. "GAVIN! GET THE FUCK IN HERE!"

Barbara looked at Griffon in confusion. "Uh..."

"We are happy to see you, Barb." Griffon assured her. "Things are just a little...look, I'm not gonna beat around the bush. There's been some murders here recently. I don't think Geoff likes the idea of bringing more Everafters here when they're safe at their own homes."

Barbara's eyes went wide. "I didn't think it was that bad. Damn. Do they know who did it?"

"Not yet. Geoff's been working nonstop to figure it out." Griffon said.

Geoff entered the room grumpily. Gavin followed behind him looking sleepy,nose crinkling in disgust.

"Geoff, what did you catch on fire? It smells like..." Gavin stood straighter when his eyes landed on Barbara. "BARBARA!"

"GAVIN!" Barbara beamed, holding her arms out for a hug.

Joy flooded through Gavin's chest. He launched himself forward and sprinted for her, vaguely aware of the fact his feet lifted into the air for a few steps. He wrapped his arms around her waist and twirled her around. He felt elated at the fact that she was here and at the fact his feet were hovering a few inches off the ground.

He sat her down and grinned. "What took you so long?!"

"Sorry, Gav. Had a hard time getting here." Barbara held up the small box of matches she had. "I'm limited to just a few matches."

"Wha-why?! You have a whole big box of them!"

" _Had_ a whole big box of them." Barbara said. "My apartment got busted into last week and they took my box of matches."

"Are you okay?!" Geoff asked, immediately examining her for any sign of injury. Griffon placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Oh yeah, I’m fine. They took some other stuff too." Barbara shrugged. "Just, like, basic robbery stuff. Some of my jewelry and money was missing too. Nothing irreplaceable, though."

"Why would they take your matches, though?" Geoff asked.

"Have you _seen_ the box I kept them in? It's like, old and looks like pure silver. Expensive. Looks like it could go for some big bucks at a pawn shop." Barbara smiled. "I'm okay though."

"But, your matches..." Gavin murmured sadly.

"Yeah, it sucks I lost those but I just gotta start over. Joel probably has a bunch at his bar. Besides, I'm not too worried about them; only people aware of magic can even attempt to use them. And even then, they’d be limited to the amount they got mixed in with duds. I don't enchant all of my matches at once, that'd be dumb."

Geoff glanced at Griffon questioningly. Griffon had her lips pressed in a thin line. She gave Geoff a look that said _"wait until they leave"_. He gave her a quick nod.

"Well, I'm glad you weren't hurt." Geoff said, walking over and giving Barbara a quick hug. "How long are you planning on staying here?"

"I dunno! I packed enough stuff for about two weeks. And, it's not like I'm not gonna be able to go back to my apartment if I forget anything."

Gavin bounced on the balls of his feet, waiting impatiently for the conversation to end. Geoff smiled softly at him.

"Why don't you and Babs go get caught up?" Gavin gave him a grateful smile, quickly grabbing Barbara's hand. He pulled her along with childlike excitement toward the back of the house.

Geoff turned to Griffon once he heard the back door close. "How concerned should we be about Barbara's matches going missing?"

"It's hard to say." Griffon said. "On one hand, Barbara's right; her specialty is enchanting matches and she's probably one of the best people I know who can do it."

“But…?”

“But, she’s definitely not the _only_ person who can do it.” Griffon explained. “The fairies who taught her how to do it in the first place are still around.”

“It’s definitely an odd coincidence if it’s not; but a coincidence is all that it could be.”

“Well, she _did_ say she had other stuff stolen from her place in addition to her match box.” Geoff sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Maybe I’m just too wrapped up in what’s going on here. I think I’m starting to grasp at straws at this point.”

Griffon watched her husband’s shoulders slump in exhaustion. It hurt her to see him this way. She silently walked up behind him, wrapped her arms around his stomach, and placed a kiss between his shoulder blades.

“Make a note of it just in case.” she murmured. “Even the smallest things can make the biggest impact.”

“You mean like you?” Geoff smiled. He let out a startled laugh as Griffon dug her fingers into his sides.

“I am _not_ that small!” she grinned.

“Not in this form, you’re not! Normally though, eeeeeh~.”

He turned around and wrapped his arms around Griffon, kissing her softly on the forehead. He didn't think he could ever find the words to describe how much he loved her. She kept him centered and calm even during crappy times like now. He’d always said how he’d always take being isolated from his family over never seeing Griffon, or Gavin, again any day.

“Why don’t you take a break?” Griffon suggested, rubbing her hand down Geoff’s back. “You've been working non-stop for the last few days. And, seeing that Gabe hasn't sent anyone over to help you yet, you need to have as much energy as possible.”

Geoff sighed heavily and rested his head on Griffon’s. “I know.”

“You’re gonna figure this out, Geoff. I _know_ you will.”

Geoff slung an arm around Griffon’s shoulders and walked toward the kitchen. “Coffee would help. And any energy spell you might have too.”

“No energy spells, remember what happened last time?”

“Gav and I patched up the roof! It was only a small hole!”

The sudden ringing of the doorbell caused the couple to jump. Geoff pulled at his hair, letting out a soft sob.

“WHY?! I was _just_ about to take a break!”

A quick succession of knocks followed the doorbell, causing Geoff to walk reluctantly toward the door. He paused upon approaching it, steeling himself for who or what he’d find behind the door. The last thing he wanted to see was Jack saying there’d been another murder. Or an exhausted and drained looking Ryan with a broken faced Lindsay tucked against his side announcing Michael had died from the injuries he’d sustained after all. His hand shook as he reached for the door knob, dreading what he would find on the other side.

A voice called out from the other side of the door. “Uncle Geoff? You home?”

Geoff looked at the door in surprise, pulling it open immediately. Standing on the porch was Ian, backpack slung over his shoulder and fist raised to knock again.

“Ian?! What are you doing here?!”

“Dad said you needed some help with the investigation.” Ian grinned. “So, I offered to help out.”

Geoff stared at the young man for a long moment before grabbing and pulling him into a hug. Ian let out a small laugh and patted Geoff on the back. He pulled back and looked at Geoff’s face.

“You look like crap, dude.”

Geoff gave him a deadpanned look. “Thanks kid. It’s not like I've been working nonstop for _three days_ or anything.”

“Sorry, would've been here sooner but I had some stuff to take care of first.”

Geoff smirked, guiding Ian inside. “What kind of ‘stuff’? School stuff? Family stuff? _Girlfriend_ stuff, maybe~?”

Ian blushed, laughing awkwardly. “N-No! Well, I mean, uh...I do-I mean-I…”

Geoff let out a loud laugh and slapped Ian on the back. “Hey, if you don’t wanna talk about her, I won’t push it.”

Ian visibly relaxed. “Thank you, Uncle Geoff.”

“No problem. We’ll get to work in a second. But, first, let’s get some coffee from Griffon.”

Ian crinkled his nose in disgust. “Will we really need coffee?”

“Lad, we’re gonna need a much coffee as we can get our hands on.” Geoff opened the door to his office, revealing the stacks of paper and corkboard layout.

Ian’s eyes widened as he took a look around. Setting his bag on the ground, he turned to Geoff.

“Where do we start?”

 

_~~~”You may be deceived if you trust too much, but you will live in torment if you don’t trust enough.” -Frank Crane~~~_

 

“I can’t believe you got here so fast!” Gavin said excitedly as he pulled Barbara into his room. “I've missed you so much! I couldn't wait for you to get here.”

“I missed you too, Gav.” Barbara admitted, watching the man rush around the room cleaning up small piles of junk he had laying around. “I was kinda surprised when you called last night. You sounded kinda freaked out.”

“Oh, that was...I was just tired and stressed out.” Gavin chuckled nervously. “Plus I haven’t seen you for a while and wasn’t sure how to ask you to come out here.”

Gavin busied himself with picking up random articles of clothes, inching toward the door in the process of doing so. He knew he’d have to tell Barbara what was going on soon, but he was afraid of what her reaction would be.

"So, why did you ask me to come here?" Barbara finally asked, watching Gavin closely. She could tell something was off with the British boy, she just couldn't figure out what.

"What, I can't miss you? I wanted to see my best friend and-"

"Gavin."

Gavin paused. He turned and locked the door behind him. His eyes met Barbara’s.

"You can _not_ tell Geoff and Griffon about what I'm going to show you." he said in a low voice.

Barbara stayed silent, refusing to promise anything. Gavin took a deep breath and made his way to his closet. He retrieved the sword from it and turned around, seeing Barbara's curious gaze. He slowly unsheathed the sword, revealing the blood stains on the blade. Barbara's eyes went wide, backing away from him nervously. She turned her head and opened her mouth.

"GEOF-"

Gavin dropped the sword and clapped a hand over her mouth. He wrapped an arm around her waist, dragging her to the ground and making a shushing noise in her ear.

"Barbara, be quiet!" he hissed. "Just hear me out, okay?!"

He felt Barbara begin to shake in his arms. He wrapped his legs around hers to keep her in place as he reached behind him, keeping his hand around her mouth. He winced as he felt Barbara start clawing at his arms with her nails. He grabbed the sword and lifted it in front of her.

Barbara squeezed her eyes shut, her heart beating rapidly in her chest. Gavin loosened his grip on her mouth.

"Barbara, please, don’t scream. Just look at it and hear me out, okay?"

Barbara was about to begin screaming again as soon as Gavin took his hand away when she caught sight of the markings on the sword. She sucked in a breath. She _knew_ this sword. She recognized the card suit pattern on the hilt and the engraving of a rose down the blade.

Gavin slowly untangled himself as Barbara grabbed the sword carefully. She scooted away from him and tested the weight in her hands.

"Where did you get this?" she asked.

"Where do you think?"

Barbara looked up at Gavin. He had his knees pulled to his chest and was staring off into space. She looked back to the sword.

"And the blood?"

"Not ours. It was from when we were trying to escape." Gavin shook his head. "When everything happened, I made her promise to stay in Wonderland until everything was good again. She gave it to me before I was banished so I could..."

"She gave it to you to grant you access back home, didn't she?"

Gavin nodded solemnly. Barbara put the sword back in its sheath and moved closer to Gavin. She carefully carded a hand through his hair before giving him a quick smack to the back of the head.

"Christ!" Gavin glared at her. "What was that for?!"

"I thought you were gonna kill me!"

"Why the bloody hell would you think that?! You know I’d never hurt you!"

" _Hello?!_ Everafters in Austin are getting _murdered_ and you're sitting in your room with a _blood stained sword_!"

Gavin paused for a moment. "Oh. Yeah. I guess I could've gone about it better."

"No shit."

They sat in silence for a long moment. Finally, Barbara spoke up.

“So, what’s the _real_ reason you called me?”

Gavin took a deep breath. "I want to go back."

"I know you do, Gav," Barbara said sympathetically. "And, I don't blame you. Austin's great and all, but it's not home, is it? Not to mention the bullshit surrounding your banishment is so ludicrous that you'd-"

"No, Barbara, you're not getting it." Gavin gave her a dark and determined look. "I'm not _telling_ you that I want to go back. I'm _asking_ you to take me back. I want you to take me back to Wonderland."

 

_~~~“Nothing can bring a real sense of security into the home except true love.” -Billy Graham~~~_

 

The first thing Michael thought when he opened his eyes was that he was dead. The room he was in was dark and he felt too peaceful to think anything else. As the room slowly came into focus, he realized couldn't move. He could feel his wrists bound to the table he was on, taking only a small amount of solace in the fact that the restraints were not tight or made of silver.

It was then that Michael realized with a start that he didn't have a shirt on; bandages had been wrapped around his torso and hands. He he frantically craned his neck, attempting to figure out where he was. From what he could make out, it looked like a lab. He felt his heart begin to pound in his ears. Images of being hunted in the old country resurfaced in his mind. Panic began to bubble in his chest. The last time he’d been in a situation like this he’d had stones forced into his stomach and tossed into a river.

Michael gritted his teeth and quickly pulled his arms toward his chest, snapping the restraints with ease. He sat up cautiously, feeling his muscles strain in protest. As he rubbed his sore wrists, he fought the oncoming wave of nausea. Whether it was from the smell of chemicals, his injuries, or whatever the person who put him down here had given him, Michael didn't know.

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, focusing on the noises and smells around him. Through the chemical and wood smell, one scent came into sharp focus. It was the smell he'd gotten so used to waking up to in the mornings, the smell that would normally bring him comfort at any other time. Instead, it made him even more panicked than he’d been upon waking up.

_"Lindsay."_

Michael got off the table and bolted up the stairs. He stopped at the door.

_"Think about this,"_ Michael thought. _"You're about to barge into a room you know nothing about just because you smell Lindsay. If you do this, you could put her in danger, assuming she’s even here at all. It'll be better if you take whoever it is by surprise."_

He grabbed the door handle and slowly pushed the door open, noting silently that the door wasn't even locked. Whoever had put him down here was either not intending to keep him there or just stupid enough to assume he wouldn't escape.

Michael crept out of the basement and looked around, slightly surprised to see what looked like a nice house upstairs. He listened carefully, hearing someone working in what he could only guess was the kitchen in the next room. His eyes drifted slowly over the room before catching sight of his sleeping girlfriend on the couch. His heart leapt in his throat for a moment, fearing she was hurt. As he got closer to her though, he saw she was fine.

Michael bent down next to her, hesitating to reach out and touch her. The blanket that covered her held a familiar scent. Though it was much stronger here, he recognized it immediately as the smell that still lingered on some of her clothes and on the ruby and diamond flower she always wore on a cord around her neck. He relaxed instantly, using the smell to confirm where they were.

He stood carefully, deciding to let Lindsay sleep. He followed the smell to the kitchen, catching sight of the tired looking man at the counter. Michael waited until he sat the mug he was holding down to speak.

"Ryan."

Ryan jumped and turned. Relief washed through him at the sight of Michael standing in the doorway.

"You're alive." he breathed.

"Barely." Michael said. He pulled out a chair, wincing as he sat down.

Ryan looked toward the living room, pulling his bottom lip between his teeth as he debated on what to do.

"When did she finally go to sleep?" Michael asked suddenly.

Ryan shook his head. "Maybe three hours ago? She's been up and down all night. She was worried about you."

"Then let her sleep. She needs it. And, as far as I can tell, I'm not dying or going anywhere."

Ryan grabbed his mug from the counter and walked to the table. He sat across from Michael and scrubbed a hand over his face.

"Look, I don't know how much you remember but I need to know: is there _anything_ you can tell me about whoever attacked you?"

Michael closed his eyes, trying to remember. He remembered bits and pieces but the last day or so had been a blur of pain and agony.

"I don't remember much, but I think it was a guy," Michael started slowly. "Or a tall woman. Couldn't see their face. They had a hoodie on and...and something else."

"What do you mean?"

Michael snapped his fingers and motioned around his face, trying to think. "Um. Glamour. I think. Like, their face was glamoured or something so it was distorted when I looked at them. I don't know for sure, though. It could have just been me almost blacking out from pain."

"Do you know what they injured you with?" Ryan asked, writing everything he could down.

"That I remember." Michael said. "It was a fucking sword. Something from our world, not from the mundies. It had silver on it but it wasn't _made_ of silver if that makes any sense? I couldn't tell what it was made of. Hell, it _looked_ green but that could've been from the lighting."

"Where were you stabbed?"

Michael gave him a deadpanned look and motioned to his bandaged torso. He held up his hands and shook them for emphasis.

"Where did the stabbing take _place_ , Michael?" Ryan rolled his eyes, muttering under his breath. "Fucker nearly dies and he's still got the energy to be a smart ass."

"I heard that." Michael said.

"I know you did."

Michael took a deep breath and did his best to remember that night. It slowly came back to him.

"I...I heard someone crying down the hall from me. At my apartment complex. I wasn't sure where it was from but it sounded like someone asking for help. I called the cops, the mundie ones, first because I thought that's who it was. I left a message on Officer Bear's phone just in case. It was late and I'd just gotten back from..."

Michael hesitated. Ryan glanced toward the living room behind him.

"Lindsay's place?"

Michael nodded silently. He knew he could trust Ryan to not put Lindsay in danger, yet he still found it hard to say the words out loud. Ryan waited patiently as Michael continued.

"I saw the same fucker who stabbed me coming out of an apartment down the hall, _clearly_ with blood on their weapon. I was going to follow them but I think they were coming after me next. I don't think they saw me but I saw them walk to my apartment and try to get in. I could tell they were glamoured. So, I got the fuck outta there and went into the alley of the neighboring building."

"Then what?" Ryan asked.

"This is gonna sound weird but..." Michael trailed off, searching for the words to explain himself. "They just appeared out of nowhere. Like, one moment I was alone and next thing I knew they were right beside me. I don't even know how they figured out I was even there. I just smelled smoke and next thing I knew the fucker was right next to me. I tried to run but they got me in a corner. Then they raised the sword and stabbed me in the gut. I was able to grab the blade and tried to pull it out." 

"Hence the injuries on your hands."

"Right." Michael closed his eyes for a second. "There was something else that seemed weird now that I think about it."

"What?"

"Well, two things, actually. The person who stabbed me was _not_ trained to use that sword. They seemed to struggle to keep it up. The sword didn't even feel heavy to me, but that could be because it had a comfortable resting place in my fucking gut."

Ryan paused his writing in attempt to get the disturbing mental image out of his head. The fact that Michael was talking so casually about this was slightly baffling. Then again, Michael _was_ the big bad wolf. So, this may not've been the first time he'd been stabbed or nearly killed.

"What's the other thing?"

"You know how I said the sword was definitely from our world?"

"Yeah?"

"It dulled when I grabbed it."

Ryan's head whipped up, eyes wide with shock.

"IT DID-" he stopped himself, lowering his voice to a hiss. "It did _what_?!"

"I'm telling you, it dulled." Michael explained. "It was crazy! I grabbed it and sliced my hands open to pull it away when the person stabbed me and then immediately went dull when I tried pulling it out. I don't know why, but it may've reacted to my blood? That's the only thing I can think of."

"So, the real reason you were in such bad shape was probably from the silver." Ryan concluded.

"That's what I'm thinking."

Ryan put his pen down and tapped his foot nervously on the ground. He covered his hand with his mouth, thinking of what to do next.

"So, by the sound of it we have a serial killer loose."

"It seems like it." Ryan said. "Were you in your apartment at any point before you got stabbed?"

"No, I regained consciousness in the alley and immediately went to Lindsay." Michael said. "I was worried that whoever did this to me would go after her next."

Ryan felt his stomach drop. He hadn't taken that into consideration. He stood up and grabbed his phone.

"You got anything from your apartment you really need besides clothes?"

"Nah, most of my shit’s at Lindsay's place. I'm slowly moving out of my place."

"Good." Ryan said, typing out a quick text. "I have a guest room. You and Lindsay are staying with me until all of this blows over. I'm gonna head over to Lindsay's later and get stuff packed for both of you."

"You don't have to do that." Michael said quietly.

Ryan sighed. "Yeah, I do. It's the only way I know sh- _you guys_ will be safe."

Ryan walked quietly to the living room and knelt next to Lindsay. He paused for a moment before gently rubbing her shoulder.

Lindsay's eyes fluttered open and gave Ryan a small smile. Ryan returned it. Lindsay noticed the open basement door behind him and bolted upright.

"Oh God," she whispered in fear. "Please don't tell me that Michael's-"

"Michael is fine." Michael called from the doorway, grinning slightly. "In a bit of pain, but pretty damn good." 

Lindsay immediately scrambled off the couch and rushed toward him, throwing her arms around his neck. Michael winced slightly but quickly wrapped his arms around her. Michael squeezed his eyes closed after a moment and held her tighter when he felt her shoulders start to shake.

This was the first time Ryan had seen them together since he and Michael had been formally introduced two years prior. And while he'd had some degree of doubt when they'd first started dating, he quickly learned Michael was head over heels for Lindsay. If he hadn't known it before, he could tell now by the way they held each other how in love they were. He stood there and smiled softly at them, ignoring the dull feeling of heartache the resided in his chest.

Lindsay pulled back sniffling. Michael took her face in his hands, quickly kissing her once on the lips and then again on the cheek. Lindsay turned and walked toward Ryan, catching him by surprise when she wrapped her arms around his torso. Ryan looked at Michael briefly, trying to gauge his reaction. Michael just gave him a look of understanding and gave him a small nod.

"Thank you, Ryan." Lindsay murmured, voice thick with tears. "Thank you so much for saving him."

Ryan embraced her after a short moment, letting himself relax for the first time in what felt like a while. He let out a shaky breath and carded a hand through her hair gently.

"I gotcha, red. I'm here. You're safe now." he glanced over Lindsay's shoulder and locked eyes with Michael. "You _both_ are."

And he intended on keeping it that way.

 

_~~~"Sometimes, only one person is missing, and the whole world seems depopulated." -Alphonse de Lamartine~~~_

 

"I don't know for sure that this will work." Barbara said, holding her matches. "Are you sure you don't want to tell Geoff goodbye?"

"I'm not gonna be gone for long. I left a note on my desk if he starts wondering." Gavin said. He stared at his feet. Barbara knew he’d feel guilty for leaving if should this actually work. He tucked the sword securely in its scabbard attached to his belt.

"Okay, we're gonna be able to see our destination materialize first. Do _not_ try to step through the portal, it could royally fuck us over. Wonderland is a heavily guarded place as far as magic goes. There’s a chance we won’t be able to make it in."

Gavin nodded. He held his hand out, jaw set in place. Barbara grabbed it and intertwined their fingers together. She took a deep breath and lifted up her foot, striking the match against her boot. The flame ignited.

Nothing happened for a few moments Slowly, a plume of black smoke began billowing from the match and engulfed them.

Gavin raised his arm to shield his eyes from the smoke, coughing furiously for a few minutes. Barbara let out a soft laugh.

"This is bloody awful." Gavin coughed. "How can you stand it?"

"You get used to it after the first couple hundred years." Barbara replied. "Once you realize that the smoke isn't real it gets easier. The coughing and choking is usually just a psychological reaction."

Gavin glanced at the smoke; the black mass swirled around them. Little orange lights glowed through the smoke. Gavin raised his hand, pulling it back and yelping in pain.

"What the hell?!"

"The fire, though, _that's_ real."

"Why?!"

Barbara shrugged. "Portal needs to form somehow."

“But _fire_?!”

“Well, how else would we keep the smoke in tact?”

“You just said the smoke wasn’t real!”

Barbara shrugged. "Eh."

Gavin shook his head. Barbara let out a small laugh when she heard him silently mumbling something about _“those bloody fairies”_ and _“enchanted fire”_ under his breath.

“How long is this going to take?” Gavin asked.

“It depends,” Barbara explained. “It usually doesn't take longer than fifteen minutes at most. Or, at least, it doesn't for me anymore. But, Wonderland’s magic might interfere with us getting there, so it’s hard to say.”

No sooner had she spoke did the smoke shutter and begin to display blurred images. Gavin could see smudges of what looked like forests and oceans. A few times he could make out a tree and nearly tumbled over in fear of hitting them. He was used to flying in the past, but this was an entirely different experience.

Barbara gently ran her thumb across the back of his hand in comfort. She knew how disorienting it was for people when they traveled with her for the first time. Hell, it’d taken her _years_ to get used to it.

“It’s going really well, Gav.” she said. “We may actually break through! This is a good thing.”

Gavin glanced at Barbara, a hopeful look on his face. For his sake, Barbara seriously hoped they actually _would_ break through the barrier.

The blurs of color and scenery suddenly came to a halt, causing Gavin to give Barbara a questioning look. Slowly, the image of a room came into view. It looked slightly run down but still intact, the wood making up the walls marred with what looked like marks from a sword. Mats and blankets littered the floor before them. Everything started to come into focus.

Gavin felt his heart nearly stop. He could see a woman with bright red hair sitting by a window sullenly. He felt his chest grow tight and attempted to move forward. Barbara squeezed his hand tighter.

"Do _not_ go to her. We could throw it all out of whack and get stuck."

Gavin's heart began to beat faster. The woman had noticed the smoke appearing in room behind her. She slowly stood up and walked toward it curiously. She seemed close enough to touch. Gavin lifted his hand, attempting touch her cheek in the process. His hand went through her image.

"Alice..." he whispered. The woman inclined her head slightly, squinting at the smoke.

"She can't hear you yet." Barbara murmured, rubbing her thumb across the back of his hand again. "The only thing she can hear are whispers. Just give it a minute and you'll be able t-"

The plume of smoke around them began to sputter and whirl faster. Gavin was thrown off balance as they seemed to hit a wall. He gripped Barbara's hand tighter, looking to her in fear.

"What's happening?!" he shouted over the wind blowing past them.

"It's not working! The barrier around Wonderland is too strong, we can't get through!" Barbara stared at Gavin. "I'm so sorry."

Gavin felt like the air had been knocked out of him. He saw the woman reach her hand out to touch the smoke. Gavin's hand shot out in attempt to grab it, his heart dropping when it passed through her once again.

"MEG! MEG, I'M HERE!" he cried, tears springing to his eyes. He saw the woman's eyes widen; she'd heard him. "MEG, LOVE, _PLEASE_!"

"Gavin, we can't bring her in! It's one way!" Barbara called over the rush of wind.

Meg frantically waved her arms through the smoke. Gavin desperately tried to grab her, his arm going through her image each time. Her eyes lifted and met his. She mouthed his name, his _Everafter_ name. Gavin knew in that instant she could see him.

"MEG, PLEASE! WAIT FOR ME! I'M COMING BACK FOR YOU, I PROMISE!" Gavin screamed. The image of Meg's heartbroken face started to fade. "No! I can't leave! I need her! I need...!"

Gavin dropped Barbara's hand and grabbed the sword from his belt. He raised it and plunged it at the invisible barrier. The area around them shook furiously.

"GAVIN!" Barbara cried in fear, grabbing him around the waist.

Gavin ignored her and tried to force the sword through the barrier. The force caused his arms to shake as he fought to keep a grip on the sword. The barrier seemed to pulsate with energy the harder Gavin tried to force his sword through.

Gavin felt the world tilt around him and became vaguely aware of the wet feeling on his face. He saw Barbara's arms shoot out in front of him and lower the sword before feeling them forced backwards.

The smoke around them whirled faster and faster in a deafening howl; Gavin found it suddenly hard to breathe as the smoke began to fill his lungs. The last solid thing Gavin could see through the smoke was Meg furiously beating against the barrier trying to get to him. He closed his eyes in sorrow.

Everything stopped. The noise, the smell of smoke, and the feeling of being in a free fall was gone. Gavin cracked his eyes open. He was back in his room.

As he stared blankly at the ceiling, Barbara's face poked into his view. She looked terrified and was saying something he couldn't hear. His limbs felt heavy, like stone. Barbara placed a hand on his face and slapped him. It felt dull to Gavin.

A loud _pop_ suddenly burst in Gavin's ears, causing him to flinch slightly. He blinked rapidly, eyes trailing over to Barbara. She stared at him anxiously. Sluggishly, Gavin raised his hand and poked her in the cheek. Barbara let out a breathless laugh in relief.

She gently helped Gavin sit up. It was a mistake. A sharp pain shot through Gavin's head; he pressed the heel of his hand against his eye as if to relieve the pressure. Barbara got up and moved to the bathroom, grabbing a washcloth from the shelf and running it under the faucet.

"What hap-" Gavin grimaced. The taste of copper filled his mouth when he attempted to speak.

Barbara walked back and knelt next to him, running the dampened cloth over his mouth and nose. Gavin was surprised to see bright red blood staining the cloth when she pulled it away.

"We couldn't get through." Barbara said, dabbing at Gavin's nose. "You tried to force us in and almost got yourself killed."

Gavin felt his heart drop. He opened his mouth to say something but stopped short, feeling the words get caught in his throat.

"Your hands!" Gavin sat up straighter and grabbed Barbara's hands. "They're burned!"

Barbara looked down at them and sighed. "I had to get us out of there. We got stuck when you tried to force us through the barrier, so I had to get you free so we'd come back here."

Gavin immediately took the cloth from her and began to dab the clean side onto her wounds. He took little comfort in the fact the burns looked very minor, especially when he could see Barbara wincing slightly.

Gavin dropped the cloth as his hands began to shake. He gently raised Barbara's hands to his lips and placed small kisses on them.

"I'm so sorry." he murmured. "I shouldn't have asked you to do that. I got you hurt."

Barbara shook her head. "I've had worse injuries than this. You know that."

"And _those_ were caused because of me too!" Gavin squeezed his eyes shut.

"I told you I was going to follow you to the edge of the world all those years ago, Gavin. I knew what I was getting into when I met you."

"But you shouldn't have had to!" he insisted. "None of you should've felt at any time that you needed to give your life for me. It was _my_ job to protect _you_!"

Gavin lowered his head, blinking back tears. "Maybe it was for the best that I was banished after all. I mean, if the people I tried to protect felt like they need to die for me..."

Barbara pulled her hands from Gavin's grasp. Gavin took a few deep breaths before he felt hands gently lifting his head. Barbara rubbed away the few tears that had escaped his eyes.

"You _did_ protect us. You pulled us out of incredibly crappy situations; shitty families, wrecks, things that should've killed us. You came in the nick of time for so many of us and gave us a new life. We never felt like we needed or were expected to die for you. You threw yourself between us and whatever danger there was without hesitation, so it was only natural for us to do the same for you when we got old enough to do it. Because we knew you needed us as much as we needed you." 

Gavin wrapped his arms around Barbara's waist, resting his head against her shoulder. Barbara sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"I'm sorry we couldn't get to her." she murmured.

"I knew it wouldn't work." Gavin admitted quietly. "I mean, I _wanted_ it to work, but deep down I knew it wouldn't."

Barbara pressed her cheek against the top of Gavin’s head, hugging him tightly. She knew he would just brush this incident off and act like it didn't affect him as badly as it did. She knew that, within the next few hours, he’d pretend to bounce back to being the lovable goofball she’d known for years; bounce back to being the boy she’d met all those years ago who’d carried her out of the cold brink of death and into his world.

But, for now, she was more than content pretending she didn't feel Gavin’s shoulders shaking as he fought to choke back his sobs of heartache.


	5. Homecoming

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello Everyone!
> 
> This chapter should NOT have taken as long as it did to write and post. I am so sorry for the massive delay, everyone. The last year of college has been chaotic and crazy trying to switch my major, dealing with difficult classes, car problems, etc. I spent all last Fall semester struggling to keep my grade for one of my classes at at least a C average, which was hard because I was placed in an uncooperative group who refused to do work and made my grade dropped back to F multiple times. So, needless to say it's been hard to keep on top of writing and posting.
> 
> I want to say I'm hoping to update more that I currently am this semester but it's hard to say. I did want to at least get THIS chapter out before my next semester starts tomorrow. I also have worked out at least a BASIC outline of the rest of this story and it looks like it's almost half way through (trust me, you will KNOW the half way point. It's a pretty important turning point chapter for the plot). So, without further ado, please enjoy! This story is not dead and I will not let it die before it's finished.
> 
> Sincerely,
> 
> ~C.C

"Sorry I couldn't be of more help to you." Ian frowned, slinging his backpack over his shoulder.  
  
"That's okay, lad; you did all you could." Geoff smiled, patting him on the shoulder. "Besides, you helped me from going insane for the last few hours."  
  
"Yeah, well, _someone_ should be helping you out with all of this. I'm just the only Grimm available right now to do it." Ian rubbed the back of his neck. "I know mom would help in a heartbeat if she wasn’t so busy with the stupid Midas case. And, I mean, you and I both know how my _dad_ is. I just wish there was something more I could-"  
  
Geoff wrapped an arm around his neck and ruffled his hair. Ian laughed, relieved Geoff was still able to joke around with him despite recent circumstances.  
  
"You are a giant help to me, Ian. Don’t worry about it." Geoff released him. "Next time I need help with all of this I'll give you a call, okay?"  
  
Ian gave him a small smile. "Absolutely. I'd really appreciate that."

The sound of broken glass and arguing in the kitchen caught their attention. Geoff and Ian walked into the kitchen to see Barbara attempting to put an icepack to Gavin’s face.

“I’m _fine_ Barbara!” Gavin protested.

“No, you’re not! Put it on, now! It’ll reduce the swelling.”

“You need it more! You’re hands are still all messed up.”

“My hands are fine, Gavin! Take the fucking ice pack!”

“What’s going on?” Geoff asked. Barbara and Gavin turned to Geoff, nearly giving him a heart attack. Gavin’s face was blotchy and stained red from what he could only guess was dried blood. Barbara quickly hid her hands behind her back. “What the hell happened to you two?!”

“I, uh…” Gavin started.

“He got excited to see me again and decided to fly around the room.” Barbara said quickly. “He kinda hit the ceiling fan.”

Geoff didn’t miss the grateful look that Gavin gave Barbara. He crossed his arms over his chest. “And your hands?”

“I hurt them trying to get his hair out of the ceiling fan.” Barbara smiled.

Geoff glanced at her hands, seeing that the marks looked more like burns than something you’d expect from a ceiling fan injury. He saw Gavin’s nervous look and decided to drop it, seeing that they weren’t seriously injured.

“Am I gonna have to fix the fucking ceiling fan?”

“Nah, we took care of it.” Gavin said.

“Okay.”

Gavin turned his attention to Ian and beamed. “Ian! I haven’t seen you since you graduated! How’ve you been?”

Ian laughed. “Pretty good! Getting through college and getting trained to eventually take charge of the Grimm family.”

“What’re you studying?” Barbara asked.

“English, my specialty is in folklore and mythology.” Ian grinned.

“Shocking.” Geoff laughed.

Gavin moved to the side and gestured to Barbara. "This is Barbara, by the way. Barbara, this is Geoff's nephew, Ian."

"Hi!" Barbara smiled, waving at Ian.

Ian studied her for a minute and smiled. "You're an Everafter, aren't you?"

"Yep! Bet you can't guess who I am~!" Barbara grinned.

Ian let out an awkward laugh and averted his gaze. "I can honestly say I don't know. Sorry."

"I'll give you a hint." Geoff said. "She's from the cold and uses fire."

Ian stared blankly at Geoff for a minute. "Um...I'm still not sure."

"That's fine, not a lot of people remember my story." Barbara said, seeing Ian's sheepish look. "I'm the Little Match Girl."

Ian stood up straighter as a flash of recognition passed through his face. His face flushed slightly as he bit his lip. "Oh."

Geoff let out a loud laugh and patted him on the back. "Don't worry, buddy. Even I don’t know all the Everafters in their current glamour. You'll get used to it."

"Yeah..." Ian chuckled, refusing to meet anyone’s eye.

"How goes the investigation, Geoff?" Gavin asked.

Geoff gave him a tired look, shoulders slumping. "We were able to organize things that needed to be organized but still don't have a solid lead or any suspects."

"Well, we have _a_ suspect." Ian said. "So far Rumpelstiltskin is the only one who we can think would have motives to kill Taylor and Michael."

"Michael's dead?!" Gavin cried, looking at Geoff in shock. Barbara placed a hand on his shoulder.

"No no no! Michael lived!" Geoff turned to Ian. "Michael lived; he just got seriously injured."

Ian nodded. "My bad."

Gavin visibly relaxed, shoulders sinking in relief. Barbara turned to Geoff.

“I get why Rumpel would target Taylor, but why Michael?”

“That’s the thing I don’t know.” Geoff admitted. “The only thing I can think is that it was a proximity thing, but even that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. Michael didn’t mention anything about Rumpel before he blacked out.”

“He might not have been able to.” Ian pointed out. “If he blacked out before he could tell anyone-”

“No.” Gavin said firmly. “I talked to him the other night. He didn’t even know it was Taylor who died until I mentioned it.”

“Well, we really won’t know for sure until we get back in contact with Michael. Assuming he regains consciousness soon.” Geoff sighed.

“Where is he anyway?” Ian asked.

“He’s with his girlfriend at Ryan’s house. Ryan’s taking care of him and Lindsay until he gets better.” Geoff answered.

“And Ryan is…?”

“Dr. Frankenstein. And Gepetto.”

Ian’s eyes went wide. “Oh God. Do we trust him?”

“Oh yeah, Ryan’s totally cool.” Geoff nodded.

“He’s creepy as hell but he’s trustworthy.” Gavin agreed.

Barbara sat the icepack on the counter and crossed her arms. “Is there anything we can do to help you, Geoff?”

“You could-” Geoff paused hesitantly. “I don’t want to put you guys in a position to get hurt.”

“I’m already invested in this, Geoffrey.” Gavin smiled, slinging an arm around Barbara. “And I’m sure Barbara is up for the challenge.”

“Yeah!” Barbara said, giving him a thumbs up.

Geoff stared the two down for a minute. As much as he hated to admit it, having Barbara and Gavin help out in addition to having Ian would be a tremendous weight off his shoulders. At the same time, though, it ran the risk of the two of them getting targeted by the murderer.

“Okay.” he said reluctantly. “I need you and Barbara to do me a favor.”

“Anything.” Gavin said.

“I need you guys to go talk to Rumpel. We were supposed to go there to see how the Schumacker kids are doing anyway. If your guys can get any information that could connect Rumpel to Taylor’s murder and Michael’s attack it would help so much with the case.”

“We can do that!” Gavin smiled. “First thing tomorrow, we’ll head over!”

“It doesn’t have to be tomorrow, just sometime soon. For now, why don’t you guys get cleaned up. The uh... _ceiling fan_ seems like it took a lot out of you two.”

Gavin smiled nervously and nodded, guiding Barbara to the back of the house.

“Good to see you, Gav!” Ian called.

“You too, Ian! Wish it was under better circumstances.”

Ian frowned as Gavin and Barbara walked out of the house. It didn't go unnoticed.  
  
"Something bothering you, buddy?" Geoff asked.  
  
"There is...there's one thing I didn’t tell you." Ian craned his neck, looking to see if Gavin was still in earshot.  
  
"What is it?"  
  
Ian looked back at Geoff. "Grandmother is coming to the family house. She's gonna be staying there for a while."  
  
Geoff felt his heart drop. By the look on Ian's face, he knew this wasn't good news.  
  
"Is she..." Geoff swallowed the lump in his throat. "Is she okay?"

Ian shook his head sadly. "Dad said she's not doing well. She's still got her spirits up and wits about her but health wise..."

“She’s dying, isn’t she?”

“I mean, she’s over 100 years old, Uncle Geoff.” Ian said sadly. “The Grimms might have a longer life expectancy than normal mundies but we’re still mortal.”

Geoff nodded. He cleared his throat and turned back to Ian.

"So, your dad’s bringing her here to keep an eye on her, huh?"  
  
"Yeah..."  
  
Geoff scrubbed a hand over his face, glancing over his shoulder to where Gavin and Barbara disappeared.  
  
"Are you gonna tell him?" Ian asked slowly.  
  
"That she's coming here, yes." Geoff took a deep breath. "That she's dying..."  
  
"I gotcha."  
  
There was a long pause between the two men. Ian inclined his head toward Geoff.  
  
"Are you gonna be okay, Uncle Geoff?"  
  
"No...but, eventually I will be." Geoff shook his head. “When’s she gonna get here?”

“Dad said she’s gonna come in tomorrow morning.” Ian shifted uncomfortably. “She’ll probably wanna see you.”

“I’ll be there.” Geoff said. “I owe her that much.”

Ian nodded. He readjusted the strap of his backpack over his shoulder and gave Geoff a quick hug. “I’ll catch you later, Uncle Geoff.”

"Yeah." Geoff pulled away and patted Ian on the back. "Text me when you get home, okay? It's kinda late."

"I will." Ian smiled.

“Okay. Love you, kid. Drive safe.” Geoff said, Ian waved goodbye.

Geoff watched him walk out the door. He took a deep breath, counting backwards from ten as he heard Ian's car drive down the road. Once he knew he was gone, Geoff braced his arms against the counter and choked back a sob.

“Hey, babe, I finished Joel’s new gloves. I figured we’d give them to Gavin so he can-” Griffon stopped, placing the gloves on the table. “Geoff, what’s wrong?!”

Geoff let a few tears fall when he felt Griffon wrap her arms around him. He stood up straighter and pulled her into his arms.

“Grandmother’s coming.” he murmured, feeling Griffon tense. “She’s not doing good, Griffon.”

“Is she dying?” she whispered.

Geoff swallowed the lump in his throat and nodded. He felt Griffon tighten her grip around his waist, holding her tightly as he felt her shoulders shake. He kissed the top of her head.

“Don’t tell Gavin,” he said. “Not until I know how bad it is.”

Griffon nodded against his chest. Geoff sighed heavily and stared at the wall. As much as he loathed it, he knew he’d be going to the family house tomorrow.

 

_~~~“Family quarrels are bitter things...they're more like splits in the skin that won't heal because there's not enough material.” -F. Scott Fitzgerald~~~_

 

The sitting room was completely silent. Outside, Geoff could hear the voices of other family members joking and laughing; could hear the voices of the children yelling and having fun as they ran around the house excitedly, just as he himself had done once many years ago.

But, in this room, the silence was the loudest thing. Gabriel and Geoff sat across from an elderly woman holding a cup of tea. Her bright blue eyes were obscured by tiny wire glasses. And though she was frail, neither man could argue the immense grace she held herself with.

She finally looked up, smiling at the two fondly.

“It’s nice to be back here.” she said, a British accent twining its way into her words. “I have so many good memories of this house.”

Geoff’s lips tugged upward into a smile. Though he’d never admit it outloud, he did have _some_ love for this place. He’d grown up in this house, after all.

“As do we, Grandmother.” Gabriel said softly.

“I remember my desk being in the corner over there.” Grandmother smiled, waving her hand gently around the room. “There was never enough room for it; I’m glad you moved it down the hall, Gabriel. I spent hours in here, against your great-grandfather’s wishes, mind you. He was a wonderful husband, though; always worried I was overworking myself. Perhaps I was...”

She trailed her eyes to Gabriel and Geoff. Nobody would ever believe Geoff when he said Grandmother was actually his _great_ -grandmother. She was so elegant that a few people even believed her to be his mother at times.

“This is a sight I’m used to.” she continued warmly. “I remember you boys sitting in here with me during summers when it’d be too hot outside. Always taking the same spots every time; me at my desk working, Geoff on the sofa tinkering with whatever magical item he’d found, Gabriel on the big arm chair reading, and Raimond…”

Her eyes lingered on the space between the chair and the sofa. Geoff and Gabriel refused to say anything, knowing exactly it was Grandmother was thinking. How there should be another man their age sat there with his back against the sofa’s arm and his feet propped against the edge of the chair. A man who, had he been there, would’ve been filling the empty silence that had engulfed the room with jokes and exaggerated stories like he always did. 

And, maybe, just _maybe,_ had he been there with them things would be different. Things wouldn’t be perfect, not by a long shot, but maybe they’d be a little better than they were now.  

“Things change, Grandmother.” Gabriel murmured. “We’ve grown up. We’re not the little boys you remember us as.”

“ _Wow_ , way to lighten the mood there, Gabe.” Geoff grumbled, earning himself a glare from Gabriel.

“You used to get along so well as children,” Grandmother sighed softly, shaking her head. “It hurts my heart to see you boys fighting. When did you both become such bitter adults?”

“Ask Gabe, he’s the one who started this mess.” Geoff muttered.

“Am I? To my knowledge, I’ve done nothing wrong.” Gabriel said cooly. “Unlike you, who has been arrested how many times at this point?”

“You know damn well what you did!” Geoff snapped. “All this bullshit started when you forced Raimond out of the family!”

“Raimond left on his own will!” Gabriel barked, getting to his feet. “He’s the one who decided to run off with some Everafter _whore_ and leave us; I didn’t have anything to do with his banishment from the family until after he was gone. You know the rule: ‘No member of the family may marry an Everafter without the blessing of the head of the family’. I was just following the rules; something _you_ should do more often.”

“You know what another fucking rule of the Grimm family is?!” Geoff screamed, standing up. “‘Never turn your back on a family member in need’! So no, you may not have _forced_ him out of the family like you tried to do with me, but you sure as fuck made it nearly impossible for him to have contact with us!”

“ENOUGH!” Grandmother yelled. Gabriel and Geoff turned to her. “Sit down. Now.”

Both men quickly sat and turned to her. She took a deep breath and shook her head.

“I am very disappointed in you.” she said. 

“Good job, Geoffrey. You’ve managed to upset grandmother.”

“I wasn’t only referring to him, Gabriel.” Grandmother snapped. “You’ve disappointed me, too. Your treatment of Everafter’s is downright deplorable. You may think yourself above them but you forget that had it not been for an Everafter you may not exist. Had I not met an Everafter, I wouldn’t have met your great-grandfather and become a member of the Grimm family.”

Gabriel turned red and looked away, seemingly biting his tongue from protesting. Geoff shook his head, disgusted that he knew exactly what Gabriel was considering saying. How Grandmother marrying great-grandfather would not have had an effect on his parentage or being a Grimm. How she was only his great-grandmother through marriage and how his own grandfather wasn’t her child through anything but adoption. It was the argument that Geoff had heard multiple times when they got older. It was Gabriel’s way of telling Geoff that he thought he was better than him. Just as Gabriel’s father had done to Geoff’s mother and Gabriel’s grandfather had done to Geoff’s grandmother.

“Geoffrey,” Grandmother continued. “It pains me to see you so angry at the world. At the family. And while I recognize it is, in a way, justified, it still hurts me. You two need to work together now more than ever. There is something very dark happening right now. You need to rely on the family for help with this situation.

“And Gabriel,” Grandmother turned to him. “Like it or not, there are Everafters out there who are members of the Grimm family now. We didn’t create the blessing rule for marriage because we didn’t want Everafters to be in the family; we made it to allow the Everafters to recognize that we of the Grimm family are, for most part, human and will die eventually."

"That doesn't change the fact that Raimond abandoned the family to be with that Everafter woman." Gabriel stated bitterly.

"Jesus Christ, do you even know her _name_?" Geoff asked in disgust. Gabriel narrowed his eyes, saying nothing.

"She goes by Alicia Lyra. Or at least she did when I met her." Grandmother said, bringing her teacup to her lips. "She and Raimond changed their surnames when they were married."

"Wait, you’ve met her?!" Geoff asked. “When?!”

"When I gave her and Raimond my blessing to get married and leave the family." Grandmother shrugged, sipping her tea quietly.

"But, the blessing is supposed to be done by a head member of the Grimm family." Gabriel stated, a look of shock on his face. " _I_ was the head of the family when Raimond ran off twenty-five years ago!"

"And being the oldest living member of our family grants me seniority over you, thus making me the _true_ head of the family." Grandmother glanced at Gabriel above the rims of her glasses. "You may be the head of the family now, Gabriel, but never forget that after your great-grandfather died _I_ ran the family for years. Just because your father and grandfather were my proteges and ran the family when I was away from America does not mean my status as a family head has been diminished."

"So, where's Raimond now?!" Geoff asked excitedly.

Grandmother frowned, sitting her teacup down. "I'm sorry, Raimond is no longer with us. Alicia contacted me years ago telling me Raimond had been killed. We brought his body back to England to figure out what had happened."

Geoff felt like the wind had been knocked out of him. He spared a glance at Gabriel, surprised to see the man looking back at him with an equally devastated look. The two may not have gotten along in the recent years, but there had been a time when they had been good friends along with Raimond. There had been a time when the three of them had been inseparable. To hear that their cousin, their _best friend_ was dead and had been for years without them knowing cut deep.

"Why was I not alerted about this?" Gabriel whispered.

"Because we weren't sure how it happened." Grandmother replied, giving them a look of sympathy. "And, Gabriel, I'm sorry but you were a very impressionable young man back then. If it turned out an Everafter had killed him, you would've held even more of a vendetta against them than the one you harbor now."

“Did you ever find out who _did_ kill him?” Geoff asked.

Grandmother shook her head. “No. We didn’t. Your grandmother and grandfather ran the case for a while, Geoff, but it came up cold each time.”

“Who runs the case now?” Gabriel asked.

“Another member of the family.” Grandmother said. “Though, not much of a development has been made.”

“I want everything we have on file about his death.” Gabriel said firmly, clenching his fists. “Looking at it with a fresh pair of eyes could shed some new light onto it.”

“Re-evaluating the case won’t bring him back, Gabriel.” Grandmother said softly.

“No, but it’ll give us a chance to bring whatever monster kill him to justice.” Gabriel spat. “I will be _damned_ if his murder goes unsolved. Raimond is not- _was_ not just another Grimm to be left dead and forgotten.”

Geoff glanced at his cousin silently. He’d never admit it, but he agreed. They owed it to Raimond to bring his murderer to justice.

“I’ll help.” Geoff said.

“ _No._ ” Gabriel growled. “You already have the Everafter murder case to worry about. This is _my_ investigation. I refuse to let anything fall between the cracks because you’re too busy chasing ghosts.”

“Bullshit! He was my family too, Gabriel! I deserve to be involved with this as much as anyone else in this fucking family. If you think I’m gonna let his memory die out, you’re fucking mistaken!” Geoff snarled.

“His memory won’t die out!” Grandmother snapped, drawing their attention. “Not as long as his wife and son are still alive.”

A heavy silence filled the room as the two men stared at her in shock. Tears began to well in Geoff’s eyes.

“Raimond has a son?” he whispered.

“Yes. Alicia recently told him to move to Austin.” Grandmother answered. Her eyes grew dark. “She told me she felt that sending him here would keep him safe. She was afraid she was being targeted for being married to Raimond, so she wanted her son to be safe.”

“He’s _here_? In _Austin_?!” Gabriel breathed in shock.

"Where can we find him?!" Geoff asked, jumping up.

"I have an address right here." she said, pulling a piece of paper from her pocket. Geoff quickly grabbed it from her, reading over the paper. “I must warn you, I’m unsure as to whether or not he’s aware of what he is.”

“In other words, his parents never told him he was a Grimm.” Gabriel murmured.

“Nor did they tell him he was part Everafter. Not to my knowledge at least.” Grandmother said. “This boy is...unique. There’s no knowing what his standing in our society is being both Grimm and Everafter. Or if he’s inherited any of his mother’s talents.”

“His standing in the Grimm family will not be an issue.” Gabriel said passively, hanging his coat over his arm. “When we tell him what he is, I will see to it that he’s made an active member of the Grimm family. He’ll be introduced and inducted into the family just as any of our spouses are when marrying into the family.”

“ _Most_ of our spouses, you mean.” Geoff grumbled, glaring at Gabriel.

“Quiet.” Gabriel replied coldly.

“Keep in mind that there is no guarantee he will want anything to do with either community.” Grandmother reminded. “You can go to him and tell him about who his parents are and what it means for him to be an Everafter and a member of the Grimm family but if he does not want anything to do with any of us we cannot force him to.”

The two men looked at each other hesitantly. As much as they dreaded that fact, they knew it could very well happen. Bringing a mundie or anyone raised as one into the worlds of both the Everafters and the Grimms came with the outcome of refusal and intolerance to the world they knew before.

“We should leave as soon as possible.” Gabriel said quietly.

Geoff looked at Grandmother, suddenly unsure of what they were about to do. He looked down at the address one last time.

“Is there anything positive that you can say about him?” Geoff asked. “About Raimond’s son I mean?”

Grandmother gave him a warm and loving smile. “He looks just like his father.”

 

 _~~~“_ _Friendly people are caring people, eager to provide encouragement and support when needed most.” -Rosabeth Moss Kanter_ _~~~_

 

He’d considered cancelling tonight. Just go back home after shutting the bar down for the day and sleeping. But, he couldn’t stand the thought of going home to that empty, quiet apartment; couldn’t stand the thought that he’d walk in, set his keys down, stare at the empty second bedroom for five minutes, and go to the kitchen to heat up whatever take out food he’d had left over from the last week. Just as he’d done every day for the past several decades.

Which is why Joel forced himself out of his car and up the driveway he visited every few weeks; though, due to recent circumstances, those visits had been few and far between. He tugged on his gloves to reassure himself that they were secure before knocking on the door in front of him.

After a few moments the front door swung open to reveal a tiny woman with glasses and brown hair beaming up at him.

"Joel!" she greeted excitedly. She made a move to hug him before stopping herself. "It's so nice to see you! It's been so long!"

“Hey, Caiti. How’ve you been?” he asked. His hand twitched to reach out and put a hand on her shoulder but he stopped himself.

“ _I’ve_ been great. Jack’s been better, though.” she admitted.

Joel frowned as he followed her inside. “Is the whole case still getting to him?”

“He and Geoff haven’t had many leads they can hit,” Caiti sighed. “He’s worried about Michael and about the community in general; without more clues to explain why these murders are happening-”

“It’s starting to make it look like these are just random killings, right?” Joel guessed.

Caiti nodded. “I don’t know what would be scarier; someone deliberately targeting us or someone just deciding to kill us at random.”

“Nobody’s really safe either way.” Joel murmured.

“No, they’re really not.” Jack said, entering the room. “Hey, Joel. How’ve you holding up?”

“Oh, you know,” Joel answered flippantly. “about as well as I’ve been for the past three hundred years. Still going day by day missing my most prized treasure and wishing my kingdom still existed.”

“Here we go.” Jack sighed, shooting Caiti a look.

Joel flopped into the large chair in the living room, waving his arms wide. “Back in _my_ day, people _respected_ a king when they saw him. If I told my subjects that my most prized treasure had been stolen from me, you can bet your ass it would only take them three hundred _minutes_ to find her; not years like this fucking Grimm family. I tell ya, those dicks don't have any fucking respect for royalty.”

Caiti laughed. “Three hundred minutes? Not three hundred _seconds_?”

“I’m a very gracious king who actually understands the concept of time, dear Caiti. Three hundred seconds to find such a prized treasure is just flat out unreasonable.”

“I was a king once too, Joel.” Jack said. “You forget that Caiti and I ruled a kingdom too.”

“Yeah but you guys ruled over animated furniture; I was an actual ruler of _people_. People and furniture are very different, Jack.” Joel said confidently.

“The furniture _were_ people, Joel.” Jack laughed.

Joel made a noise of dismissal, waving him off. Jack and Caiti exchanged a look. They’d known Joel for long enough to know when he putting on a brave face. He always faked confidence when he talked about how his “most prized treasure” was stolen from him to hide the pain he felt over it. Caiti moved to sit on the couch across from him.

“How have you been, Joel?” she asked. “Like, how have you _really_ been?”

Joel stared down at his gloved hands silently. He shook his head, glancing back up at Caiti.

“It’s been so long.” Joel said quietly. “I don’t...I’m having trouble remembering what she looked like recently. Like, I see her in my head when I think about her but...but she just seems faceless.”

Caiti gave him a sympathetic look and patted his knee. Jack scratched at his beard for a moment.

“She had...big brown eyes, right?” he asked, looking at his wife. “They were brown but if you saw her in the sunlight you could see flecks of gold in them.”

Caiti beamed. “Yes! Her hair was the same way; beautiful jet black with strands of gold weaved into it.”

“She truly lives up to her name; ‘The Golden Princess’.” Jack smiled.

“Truly one of the best princesses I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting.”

“ _One_ of the best.” Jack confirmed, staring lovingly at his wife.

Joel let out a sad laugh. “The gold additions were probably my fault.”

“Yes, but you were still able to reverse the affects of your powers for her.” Caiti said. “She knows how much you love her, otherwise you wouldn’t have been able to help her.”

Joel closed his eyes, thinking back to that day. The paralyzing fear and despair upon realizing he’d turned what he considered to be his greatest treasure into a solid gold statue and the utter relief he felt when the gold had melted away and left her virtually unharmed as he held her in his arms. Those lasting aftereffects of his curse that had stayed with her years later still haunted him, despite his princess’s claims that she truly didn’t mind them.

Joel swallowed the lump in his throat as he fought back tears. “I miss her so much. I think about her every day and about how I want to see her in the morning when I wake up. It’s been so long that even _some_ sort of confirmation that she’s alive would be enough at this point. Some proof that she was able to make it here when we were leaving.”

“Oh, Joel…” Caiti murmured sympathetically.

“Have you tried talking to Adele about this?” Jack suggested. Joel tensed, hunching his shoulders.

“I…” he hesitated. “I don’t know. I don’t wanna bother her.”

“Joel, she’s your friend.” Caiti said softly. “She’d be more than happy to help you if you asked.”

“‘Friend’ might not be the right word for it, Caiti.” Joel said. “I haven’t really talked to her in a while.”

“But she’s still heading your case, right?” Jack asked. Joel nodded sheepishly. “Then why the fuck don’t you wanna ask her?!”

“It’s complicated, okay?” Joel snapped. “Like I said, I haven’t had much contact with her in a while. Not since she...you know, got _married._ ”

“But, she got married almost two decades ago!” Caiti cried. “You haven’t talked to her since then?!”

“Do you guys know who Adele  _is_ now?! Yeah, we may’ve been friends for a while but you really think I’d still have that good of contact with her? Especially considering _which_ family she married into?”

Caiti and Jack shared a sad look. Even though it frustrated them to no end that Joel refused to seek out help, that didn’t mean they didn’t understand his reasons as to _why_ he refused to seek out help.

“She’s still heading your case, though.” Jack said. “Surely she’d bother to make some time for you. Adele’s a sweet woman.”

“Yeah, but she’s still been in that family for two decades.” Joel sighed, staring blankly at his glass. “People change, Jack. Nobody knows that better than Everafters.”

“It’s still worth a shot, Joel.” Caiti said softly. “You need to talk to her about it. You’ve been waiting long enough for your case, for _Orla’s_ case, to take priority.”

Joel flinched at the sound of her name.

“You said it yourself; people used to respect kings and the Grimms lack that respect.” Jack said, trying to encourage the man. “You need to pretend you’re still a king and demand the respect you deserve, the respect _Orla_ deserves. She’s been missing too long, she needs to be found.”

Joel closed his eyes and considered his options. He could definitely muster up some courage for Orla’s sake and demand the answers he’s been waiting for for years. Yet, at the same time, there were unfortunately more _important_ matters right now they were dealing with; ones that could permanently prevent him from ever finding Orla.

“If I were still a king,” Joel started slowly. “and I knew that members of the Grimm and of the Everafter community were working on catching a murderer in order to keep everyone safe, it would be selfish of me to ask that they spend more time finding my most prized treasure than finding the murderer. If I can ask for Adele alone to devote more time, that’s one thing. But, there’s a chance you guys need all the help you can get. As much as it pains me to admit it, Orla’s case can wait.”

Jack gave him a pitying look. “That’s very noble of you, Joel. But, you still deserve answers.”

Joel didn’t reply. He _wanted_ answers, that was true. And the more he thought about it, the more hope he had. Adele had been his friend years ago before she married into the Grimm family. Maybe there was a chance that, if he were to ask this time, he would get at least some answers.

“Oh! Wait!” Joel said suddenly, snapping out of his previous thought. He grabbed his bag off the ground and reached inside, pulling out a plastic baggy. “I remembered to grab this before I left the bar tonight.”

Jack raised a brow as Joel handed him the baggy. Inside was money and a shot glass with bloodstains on them.

“Uhh…”

“It’s from Michael,” Joel explained, causing Jack’s head to snap up. “From when he came in the other day. His reasons behind his injuries seemed like bullshit so I figured I’d stow away that stuff in case someone needed it.”

“Joel, you magnificently paranoid bastard.” Jack laughed. “This is amazing; I’ll get this to Ryan as soon as I can.”

“It’s no big deal.” Joel said.

“Dude, you may have just saved the case for all we know.” Jack said. “Any evidence is still evidence; we don’t know how hard this shit’s gonna be to find.”

“Do you think this could help catch the murderer?” Caiti asked, hopeful.

“It may,” Jack explained. “or at the very least could tell us what the murder weapon is so we can narrow it down a bit. If the weapon was from our world, pieces of its magic should still be in the blood.”

“And with Griffon’s help, there’s a greater chance for finding the exact weapon it was.” Caiti said.

Joel stood up. “If it helps, I can keep an ear out at the bar and let you know if I hear anything suspicious. For now, though, can we eat? I’m starving.”

Caiti put her hands on her hips and stared him down. “When was the last time you ate?”

“I choose to plead the fifth on that matter.”

“Jesus Christ, Joel. Come on.” Jack sighed.

Joel smiled as he followed the two into the dining room, feeling a pang of gratitude and sorrow when he saw Caiti had once again set an extra place at the table in honor of Orla. He knew she and Jack wanted her to be found almost as much as he did, hoping one day that spot would be filled.

Joel made up his mind in that instant. He needed to talk to Adele, needed to get answers. And he needed to do it _soon_. Before it was too late.

 

_~~~“Once you bring life into the world, you must protect it.” -Elie Wiesel~~~_

 

The entire car ride to the apartment complex across town was spent in complete silence, only broken by Geoff occasionally giving Gabriel direction. When they pulled into the parking lot, Gabriel cut the engine and stared at the building. Geoff looked back down to the directions Grandmother had given them.

“This is the place.” Geoff said quietly. He undid his seatbelt, getting out of the car. Gabriel followed behind him soon after.

As the two men made their way up the stairs, Geoff cleared his throat. “You know, there’s no guarantee-”

“Stop it, Geoffrey.” Gabriel snapped. “You’ve been occasionally right about things I thought you were wrong about before but I know for _certain_ what you’re about to say is wrong.”

“Gabriel, we need to think rationally about this.” Geoff said gently. “Grandmother doesn’t think his parents ever told him about Everafters or the family; she’s right, we can’t just assume he’ll want anything to do with us.”

“He will. I can feel it.” Gabriel replied.

“What faith are you going off of, the fact he’s Raimond’s son? Just because Raimond was an active part of the family and our best friend doesn’t mean his son will automatically jump aboard this crazy train.”

Gabriel stopped in his tracks and gave Geoff a cold look. “I am going on the faith that our nephew hasn’t known much of his family over the years. From what Grandmother’s told us, the only family he knows of are his parents. I’m hoping that once he finds out he has a whole family that’ll welcome him with open arms he’ll want to join us.”

“Do you know for sure the family will do that? Welcome him with open arms, I mean?” Geoff asked quietly. “He _is_ half Everafter, remember?”

Gabriel squared his shoulders, holding Geoff’s gaze. “I will make sure he is welcome. Anyone who tries to say otherwise will answer to _me_.”

Geoff suppressed a shudder as Gabriel marched past him to the apartment complex. Though he’d never admit it, Gabriel could be incredibly intimidating at times. There had been a time when they were teenagers where Geoff had been convinced if they’d both taken up the mantle of doing fieldwork for the family they’d be an unstoppable team. They’d planned on being the calculating and muscles portion of their little team while Raimond played “good cop”. That plan had died a long time ago, though. And, the chances of it being rekindled were slim to none.

The two men headed up the stairs to the apartment and paused, staring at the door.  Taking a deep breath, Geoff raised his hand and knocked on the door.

“Do you think Raimond told him about us?” Gabriel asked quietly.

Geoff didn’t bother to answer.

The door opened suddenly, causing both men to jump. Geoff was thrown off guard when in place of the exact copy of Raimond they’d been expecting stood a beautiful young woman with large brown eyes. She looked at the two of them in confusion.

“Can I help you two?”

Geoff was the first to react, he stuck his hand out and smiled.

“Hi, I’m Geoff Ramsey and this is my cousin Gabriel Grimm. We were wondering if we had the right apartment.”

“That depends,” the woman said slowly, eyeing the two men. “Who are you looking for?”

“We’re looking for our nephew.” Gabriel explained. “Is there a Raimond Jr. here by chance?”

The woman looked uncertainly behind her before turning back to them. “I mean, there’s a _Ray_ here who’s also a Jr. but I don’t know if it’s who you’re looking for.”

Geoff swallowed the lump in his throat. He shoved his hands in his pockets and looked at the young woman uncertainly. “Is there a chance we can talk to him?”

The woman paused for a minute before turning around to yell into the apartment. “Hey loser, there’s some men here looking for you!”

“Is it the po-po?” came a reply.

“Maybe. How much weed did you sell?” she asked, walking back into the apartment.

“Fucking 420 grams; just blaze!”

Geoff and Gabriel shared a look as the door closed again. “Uh...you sure Grandmother gave us the right address, Gabe?”

“It is entirely possible this is the wrong address,” Gabe said. “Grandmother _is_ over a hundred years old.”

Shuffling on the other side of the door drew their attention. The moment Ray opened the door, Geoff felt his heart nearly stop. The young man standing before them was nearly a spitting image of his father. The only difference was that he was a little skinnier and wore glasses. But, there was no mistake; he _was_ Raimond’s son.

“Uh, I’m Ray?” he offered awkwardly.

Geoff snapped back to his senses. “Hi, I’m Ge-”

“You look just like him.” Gabriel said, voice thick with emotion. “I...I can’t believe…”

The young man, _Ray_ , looked at them in confusion. Geoff shook his head and reached into his pocket.

“Sorry, we’re just a little overwhelmed.” he explained. “I’m Geoff, this is Gabriel. We were wondering if we could come in and talk.”

“That depends on what you wanna talk about.” Ray said calmly.

Geoff pulled the picture out of his pocket, pausing to stare at it for a moment. It had been taken when they were all teenagers. Geoff was on one side flipping off the camera while Gabriel gave an uneasy smile. Between them was Raimon, face full of joy from laughing and his arms around his cousins. Geoff smiled a bit, remembering that they’d all gone tumbling into the lake behind them moments later due to the already unstable dock breaking. But, that was them; always doing stupid shit for the sake of fun.

Geoff passed the picture to Ray who took it with a look of shock. “Your dad was our cousin. We heard about his passing only recently and wanted to come and see you.”

“If,” Gabriel said quickly. “you want to see us, that is. We don’t wanna trouble you, Raimond.”

“Ray” Geoff corrected quietly.

“Ray.” Gabriel continued to stare at their nephew in quiet sorrow.

Ray looked between the picture and the two men as if trying to confirm that it was actually them in the pictures. He finally handed the picture back to Geoff and stepped aside.

“Uh, yeah, so this is a lot for me to take in but please; come in.”

The two men entered the apartment.

“So, uh, when you say you only recently found out my dad died…” Ray paused. “ _How_ long ago did you find out? Cause that shit happened a while back.”

“An hour ago.” Gabriel and Geoff said tiredly. Ray looked like he’d been punched in the gut.

“Wow, that- I mean it happened like- you just…” he shook his head. “I’m so sorry.”

“No no no! It’s not your fault at all!” Geoff said.

“We haven’t had contact with your father since before you were born, you couldn’t have known we weren’t aware.” Gabriel assured him.

As they entered the apartment, the young woman, whom Geoff could only assume was Ray’s girlfriend, looked up at them from her computer. She stared at them for a few moments before turning to Ray.

“Holy shit, are you actually getting arrested?” she asked.

“Absolutely.” Ray said. “No, um, actually these guys are my uncles. They knew my dad.”

The woman stood up and moved to his side. She looked at Geoff and Gabriel suspiciously.

“We grew up with Ray’s dad, Raimond.” Geoff explained quickly. “We lost contact with him over a decade ago.”

Ray leaned toward the woman, murmuring something into her ear. Her look changed from suspicious to sympathetic in an instant.

“I’m Tina, Ray’s girlfriend.” she said. “Sorry you guys had to hear about Ray’s dad this way.”

“As are we.” Gabriel replied. Geoff reached out and gave him a quick pat on the shoulder, ignoring the flare of anger he felt when Gabriel shrugged him off.

“So, you never really explained why you’re here exactly.” Ray said. “You guys clearly came to find me for a reason if you just found out today that my dad died.”

Geoff let out a deep sigh. “You may wanna sit down for this.”

Ray and Tina exchanged a confused look before taking a seat on the couch. Gabriel sat in the chair across from them, unsure of how to proceed.

“How much do you know about fairy tales?”

Ray let out a laugh of disbelief. “Are you fucking serious?”

When Gabriel and Geoff didn’t respond, he shrugged. “I mean, I know the _basics_ ; Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, Rapunzel, all that junk. And that they were way more fucked up than what Disney showed.”

Tina eyed Gabriel and Geoff for a minute. “Wait, didn’t you say your last name was Grimm? Like, as in the Brothers Grimm?”

Geoff smiled, looking at Gabriel. “I like her, she catches on quick.”

“ _My_ last name is Grimm,” Gabriel replied, ignoring Geoff completely. “He chose to take on the name Ramsey. But, yes, we are members of the Grimm family and yes, we are descendants of the Brothers Grimm. As are you, Raimo- _Ray_. Your father was a member of the Grimm family as well.”

“No shit?” Ray asked, sounding genuinely surprised. “That’s actually pretty cool. I don’t know much about my dad’s side of the family, he never really talked about it.”

“Yes, well…” Gabriel swallowed the lump in his throat. “The Grimm family is so much more than collectors of fairy tales. We act as historians and guards between the mundane world and the world of the Everafters.

“Uh...you lost me.”

“Everafters are people who are considered ‘fairy tale characters’,” Geoff explained. “Except, well, they’re real and a lot of big name ones live here in Austin now.”

“You’ve gotta be shitting me.” Ray said. He was met with silence. “You are not shitting me, oh my God. I think you guys might actually be crazy.”

“It’s a lot to take it, we know.” Geoff said. “But, trust us kid, there’s nobody better that could be telling you about this.”

“I mean, it _would_ explain why Austin is...you know, fucking _Austin_.” Tina said, earning a disbelieving look from Ray.

“I really like you,” Geoff laughed, nodding at Tina. “you’ll fit right in with the family.”

“If she ends up joining the family in the future.” Gabriel added.

“What family, what the fuck is even going on?!” Ray asked. “Why are you here telling me about the fucking Grimms and trying to say some bullshit about fairy tale people being alive?!”

Geoff rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, kid. Your dad was a member of the Grimm family.”

“Yeah, I know, you just told me.” Ray snapped.

“We also believe,” Gabriel said. “that your mother is an Everafter.”

A tense silence hung in the air. Tina bit her lip and stifled a laugh as Ray stared at Geoff and Gabriel.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me.”

 

_~~~“Obsessed by a fairy tale, we spend our lives searching for a magic door and a lost kingdom of peace.” - Eugene O’Neill~~~_

 

Joel drummed his hands on the steering wheel impatiently. He glanced at the ignition where his keys sat motionless. He could do it. He could just start the car and leave. No one would be the wiser and he wouldn't be at risk for potential jail time for this. Hell, this endeavor might not even be worth the risk.

Joel swallowed thickly and shook his head. Of course it was worth the risk. He hadn't been waiting hundreds of years to just give up now. He was growing impatient and wanted answers, risks be damned.  
  
The slamming of a car door down the street drew his attention. A woman made her way up the path to the magnificent house before her, her dark and graying hair falling loosely from the bun she's tried so desperately to keep it in. Joel took a deep breath and got out of his car.

He jogged for a few paces before finally catching up to the woman, calling out so not to alarm her.

"Adele!"

The woman jumped in surprise, turning around at the sound of her name. As her dark brown eyes locked with Joel's, she tensed.

“You’re not allowed to be here.” she said, watching Joel make his way toward her. “No Everafters are welcome at the Grimm house without permission from the Grimm family; violating that rule can and will result in your arrest.”

“Is that what I am now?” Joel asked softly. “Just some Everafter you want nothing to do with?”

There was a tense pause between them. "What do you want, Joel?"

"I just want to talk."

"We have _nothing_ to talk about." Adele snapped, turning away.

"We have so much to talk about!" Joel insisted, grabbing her wrist gently. "I deserve answers."

"I know what it is you're going to ask, the answer is still _no_. There is nothing new for me to tell you nor will there be for a while."

"Bullshit." Joel snapped. "This family has been working on my case since I came here three hundred _fucking_ years ago! It has been bounced around from person to person, and yeah, maybe at the beginning I _wasn't_ expecting much because I fucking _knew_ there wasn't enough information to go on after it happened. But, you cannot tell me that after all this time that there has been absolutely no progress made in this!"

"There hasn't been much progress made because nobody _cared_ , Joel." Adele said firmly, glaring at him. "Nobody gave two shits about you or your case and nobody _started_ caring about your case until _I_ joined this family and took it on. So don’t come complaining to me about not doing my job when there has been literally nothing for me to go on.”

“My case should’ve been, and still should be, a top priority!” Joel seethed. “Everyone else has had their shit being taken care of immediately, so why the fuck have I had to wait so long for mine to be taken care of?”

Adele pressed her lips into a fine line, tugging her wrist away from Joel's loose grasp. "Just because you were a king in your old country doesn't mean you have the right to have your issues be top priority. Nobility does not count here."

"THIS ISN'T ABOUT NOBILITY!" Joel exploded, waving his arms around wildly. "This is about the fact that my fucking _daughter_ has been missing for hundreds of years! None of you seem to comprehend the fact that I lost her when we came to this place! I had her ripped from me when we were going through the portal and that _fucking_ family you married into hasn't done a good Goddamn thing to help me!" 

He could see the faces of children and some adults looking through the window of the Grimm family house, watching the scene unfold outside. Joel sank to his knees at Adele's feet, his hand covering his eyes.

"Why don't you understand?" he asked weakly, voice cracking. "You're a mother. Wouldn't you give anything to find a child who's been lost to you? No matter what the cost was?"

The door to the main house opened. Ian quickly made his way over to them, putting a hand on Adele's arm.

"Mom, are you okay?" he whispered.

"Not now, Ian. Just give me a minute." Adele murmured. She moved away from her son and sat in front of Joel.

"I know you don't believe me," Adele said slowly. "But, you _have_ to trust me when I say I have been doing everything I can to find your daughter. And, while it's true members of the family who worked on your case before didn't spend as much time on it as I am, I can assure you that I am trying my damnedest. There just isn't anything new to report so far."

Joel rubbed his eyes and stared up at her. "Can you tell me anything? Just...anything that you might have a clue about? I'm losing hope and I don't want to accept never seeing her again."

Adele bit her lip, looking back at Ian. Ian's eyes widened, knowing what she was going to say.

"Mom, you can't tell him that! That isn't a true lead, we don't even know if-"

"We have an idea." Adele said, cutting Ian off. "We're not sure if it's a solid lead yet, but it's something."

Joel's head whipped up, staring at her in shock. Adele took a deep breath. 

"There's a rumor going around that somewhere in Europe there's a woman who's spotted at night wearing a golden gown who seems to disappear in the morning," Adele explained, ignoring Ian's look of disapproval. "Some say that she’s accompanied by birds, but we’re not sure how reliable it is.”

“We don’t know how reliable _any_ of that is!” Ian protested. “Just because a handful of people say it doesn’t mean-”

“She’s here?” Joel whispered. “She made it to this world?”

“I believe it may be a possibility.” Adele said. Ian shook his head, seething.

Joel let out a laugh of surprise, trying his best not to cry. Sniffling, he stood up and hugged Adele.

“Thank you,” he whispered. “Thank you so much.”

“I don’t know how accurate this information actually is, Joel.” Adele said firmly. “There’s a chance it’s just a false lead like before.”

“But, it’s still _something_.” Joel said, pulling away. “I’ve been in this world for hundreds of years without my daughter; I’m more than willing to accept any chance I can get to find her.”

There was a tense silence that still hung in the air. Ian cleared his throat. “You should leave. My dad won’t be happy when he finds out you came to the family home without permission. And, you know, for assaulting my mom.”

“Ian.” Adele snapped.

“No, no! He’s right. I’m really sorry, Adele. That was way out of line for me.” Joel said. “I shouldn’t have done that.”

Adele let out a deep sigh. “I forgive you, Joel. Just, please...have some respect for the rules next time. I don’t want you getting in trouble over this.”

Joel swallowed the lump in his throat, nodding. “Thank you. You’ve done more for me in three hundred years than anyone else in this family ever has.”

Adele rested her hand on his shoulder, giving him a look of sympathy. “You’ve been patient for so long. It was the least I could do for...an old friend.”

Joel smiled softly at her, ignoring Ian’s glare. He gently took her hand off his shoulder, rubbing his thumb over the back of her hand. As much as he wanted to kiss the back of her hand, he refrained from doing so. Partially because he wasn’t sure how his powers would react to the touch, but mostly for respect for Adele and her husband. He gave a respectful nod to Ian before turning and leaving, feeling much more hopeful than he felt when he came here.

A small smile rested on Adele’s lips as she watched him go. She knew that it wasn’t much to go on, but giving him _something_ was the least she could do. In her heart, she knew it had been the right thing to do.

Ian cross his arms, shaking his head. “You shouldn’t have told him anything.”

Adele let out an irritated sigh. “Ian-”

“We had nothing to go on!” Ian snapped. “Some story some drunker heard at one point suddenly means his daughter made it to our world?!”

“It’s a start.”

“It’s a _farce_ , mom! And, now he’ll be back here at _least_ once a week demanding answers that we _do not_ have for him.”

Adele threw up her hands and began to walk back to the house. “Ian, you don’t _know_ Joel! He’s not like that.”

Ian stared her down coldly. “Yeah, _you_ would know what he’s like, wouldn’t you?”

Adele stopped mid-step, whirling to face her son. “What did you just say?”

Ian looked away, shrugging. Adele stepped closer to him, eyes blazing.

“Ian, I spent the first fifteen years of my marriage to your father being harassed and continuously questioned about my friendship with Joel by members of this family. I will _not_ be harassed and accused by my own son, do I make myself clear?” 

Ian locked eyes with her defiantly. “Dad doesn’t approve of it either.”

“Well that’s just too damn bad for dad, now isn’t it?” Adele let out a disbelieving laugh. “You know, I’m gonna try to give you the benefit of the doubt, Ian. You’re not married yet so you may not be aware of this, but when you’re a husband, you are _not_ your wife’s keeper. You don’t suddenly have a say or control over who she’s friends with.”

“I never _said_ that! Jesus Christ, mom.” Ian snapped. “I just don’t like that guy hanging around you.”

Adele let out a long sigh. “Ian, you’re still young. There are things you don’t fully understand yet.”

Ian looked away. Adele stepped closer, putting her hands on his shoulders.

“Honey, look at me.” she said. “I know you’re helping Geoff and your dad out with this... _serial killer_ case, but you haven’t actually taken up a solo case yet. As a member of the Grimm family-”

“Oh my God, mom, _really_? _You’re_ gonna give me this stupid spiel?”

“As a member of the Grimm family,” Adele continued. “You’re going to have to interact one-on-one with Everafters, even if you don’t like it. You’ll have cases that you’ll finish in a week and some that will take years and years to complete. They won’t all be easy and you may not enjoy all of them, but each case deserves an equal chance. Because, despite what a sad amount of people in this family actually believe, Everafters deserve every single right that we do. This world doesn’t just belong to the Grimms or mundies anymore; Everafters live here now too.”

Ian searched his mother’s face, shoulders slinking. “We’re all just trying to make life as perfect and ideal for Everafters as we can.”

Adele gave him a sympathetic smile. “I know you have a lot of pressure on you, honey. You’re helping Geoff with this case, your father is expecting you to eventually take over as head of the family, everyone’s watching and waiting for you to screw up…But, you can do this. If anything, you need to know that _I_ believe in you. Anything you believe you can do, I will be beside you the entire way. I love you, Ian.”

Ian smiled, hugging her. “I know, mom. I’m sorry for everything.”

Adele pulled away, putting a hand on his back. “Come on, I have a lot of work to do if I’m gonna prove that the sightings of this golden bird woman is Orla Heyman. As soon as I do, I’m gonna bring her home where she belongs.”

Ian shook his head, letting out a laugh. “I wouldn’t hold my breath on that.”

Adele smiled. “Fairy tale endings have happened before. Who’s to say they can’t happen again?”


End file.
